The Fate's Decision
by magicforever39
Summary: There were two things Percy and Harry could agree on even though they had only just met when they were brought to some strange room where time is stopped: First of all it really sucks to have your past and thoughts shown to a bunch of people half of whom they didn't know and secondly how in the world did Electra niece of Sirius Black and daughter of Hades know them all?
1. Prologue

**Okay so this was just an idea that I had bouncing around my head even though I know I should be working on A Better Future? It's Possible... But I couldn't resist.**

* * *

The Weasleys, Hermione, and Electra stared at the scene in the kitchen in shock. Sirius Black and Severus Snape were pointing their wands at each other with Harry in the middle trying to stop them. Electra's eyes flashed in annoyance, would the two of them ever learn? She was constantly trying to get them to see past old school grudges but apparently the message never got through their thick skulls. Electra knew it would be difficult with Severus since all children of Hades had the fatal flaw of holding grudges but still one would think he would listen to his baby sister. Then again, now that she thought about it, it would be hard to get Sirius to get the message because like all Blacks he was stubborn and prideful. Electra knew this because she was the same since her mother was Sirius's younger sister, twin to Regulus and a Squib.

Electra was about to step forward to get her Uncle to put his wand away. Since the two boys, they weren't acting like men so she refused to call them that at the moment, were the only ones in Grimmauld Place who knew that she was a demigod, she couldn't tell her brother to back down as well as it would break both of their covers. The only person besides the gods and Electra who knew that Severus was a son of Hades was their half-brother Nico di Angelo. Severus saw the audience and the irritation in his sister's silver grey eyes and put his wand away. He started to leave and turned to Harry saying, "Six o'clock Monday evening, Potter." He looked at Electra telling her, "By the way your stepmother sent the school a message that I was told to pass along since I was coming here anyway. She wants you home as soon as possible. There is some family business to take care of." With that he left.

Electra huffed at the message. Family business. Why couldn't she just have one year off? She went upstairs to pack while Mrs. Weasley told Sirius how Mr. Weasley was cured. She packed all of her stuff quickly and took her trunk downstairs. Electra walked into the kitchen where everyone was still talking. "Well I've got to get going. It isn't a good idea to keep my stepmother waiting when there's family business to do," Electra said smiling.

Sirius smiled and got up to hug his niece. "All right. Be safe. Remember to try to send me a message somehow."

Mrs. Weasley stared at Sirius, "Are you trying to get her in trouble? The owls can get intercepted if you remember. And how is she planning on getting home anyway?"

Electra glared at Mrs. Weasley. She hated how she would talk to her uncle. "I'm perfectly capable of communicating with my uncle so that even if it was intercepted the person trying to read it wouldn't understand anything more than basic conversation. And I was planning on taking the Knight Bus from the end of the road." _Ha-ha not. I'm shadow traveling much easier and much more pleasant. _She walked over to say goodbye to the others, Fred, George, Harry, and Hermione in particular as they were her best friends in the wizarding world. Ron was alright but he could get on her nerves sometimes.

Once her goodbyes were said she pulled her trunk out of the door. Unfortunately something set Mrs. Weasley off and her yells woke Electra's grandmother's portrait. Her screams rang in Electra's ears as she shadow travelled to Hades' palace. She dropped her trunk off in her room and changed into the black and red dress Persephone had set out for her. Electra made a face at it as it was far too low-cut for her with the "shoulders" around her upper arms at the same level as the top of the dress and the bottom of the dress cut very short underneath a longer torn up lacy skirt that went from short in the front to long in the back. She put on her earrings and necklace before pulling on her red shoes with zipper on the side that had a silver skull for a pull. The shoes she would swear could probably kill someone since the heels were four to five inches high.

Electra walked out to the throne room where her two brothers were waiting in identical black suits with a deep dark red shirt under the jacket with a black tie. She smacked Severus on the back of the head saying, "What have I told you about holding grudges?"

Severus opened his mouth to reply but before he could the three of them were swallowed by a bright light.

* * *

Back in Grimmauld Place, everyone had calmed down and had just finished eating lunch when they were suddenly surrounded by a bright light.

* * *

Percy and his friends from both the Roman and Greek camps were hanging out by the lake enjoying the last couple days before school started back up again. They'd all been at Camp Half-Blood that winter to celebrate Christmas together which was the first one after Gaia's defeat that summer. Thalia had even shown up. He thought it was a pity that Electra couldn't be there but she'd said that she was going to spend Christmas with her uncle since it was the first she'd get to spend with him and the father of a couple of her friends had just been gravely injured. Nico had been there to start with but had left earlier that day for some family business that he wasn't happy about. They were all just getting ready for a snowball fight when they were engulfed in a bright light.

* * *

Harry groaned and sat up from where he landed on a hard floor. He looked around and saw all of the Weasleys including Charlie who was supposed to be in Romania and Percy who had left his family, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, McGonagall, Dumbledore , Luna, Neville, and Draco getting to their feet. Harry looked over at the other side of the room once he was standing and saw a group of over a dozen teenagers one of whom looked almost exactly like him minus the glasses and the scar.

* * *

Percy stood up and looked around. He saw Annabeth, Grover, who was suddenly wearing his pants, faux feet and a hat, Thalia, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Will Solace, Travis and Conner Stoll, Rachel and Chiron, who was in his wheelchair, all getting to their feet as well. Percy looked around the room and on the other side saw another group which had a more diverse group of ages than his group, well judging by appearances since Thalia, Hazel, Grover, and Chiron didn't look their actual ages or in the case of Thalia and Hazel technical ages. One of the strangers, Percy noticed, was almost his exact duplicate except for a pair of glasses and was that a lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

Before either group could say anything there was another flash of light and three people landed in a heap on the floor. "Get off me Nico," Electra said shoving her brother off of her. Severus got to his feet and offered Electra a hand to get up, much to the shock of several of the wizards.

"Electra! Nico!" Percy said grinning and waving.

Electra looked over and grinned when she saw her friends from camp, "Hey guys sorry I couldn't make it for Christmas."

"It's alright we understand," Will said smiling.

Leo grinned at her and was about to say something when Harry said having gotten over his shock at seeing Severus's apparent change of behavior, "Electra you know them?"

Electra looked over at him, "Yeah. Any idea what's going on?" Everyone shook their heads except Dumbledore who walked forward with a note.

"I believe this letter will answer some of your questions," Dumbledore said and started to read.

_We have summoned all of you here today because we want you to know who else exists outside of your respective worlds and what has and will happen in both. You will be reading several books about the lives of two people that are here right now and those who play a major part in their lives. This room exists outside of time so while you are here no time shall pass._

"Damn," Electra muttered. She was hoping she'd be able to get out of Persephone's "Check on the status of the Underworld" thing.

_There is a kitchen with a fridge that will provide whatever you need, dining room, private room for any talks you wish to have away from the hearing of others and a room where you can go to release your tempers available and you are currently standing in the living room. Bedrooms for everyone will be created later._

_The books you will be reading are The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince and, The Deathly Hallows about Harry Potter and The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, Mark of Athena, House of Hades and one that we shall not reveal the title of just yet about Percy Jackson._

Percy and Harry both groaned when they heard that their lives would be the one's exposed for everyone to hear. Electra had glanced at Severus when the title _The Half Blood Prince _had been read out. She knew his mother's maiden name was Prince and she knew that title fit him in more than one way.

_There will be no punishments for anything in these books as it is all either in the past or the future. Also there will be no cursing anyone and anyone who does so will have their magic blocked for as long as we see fit._

_Those who should be here are and as the list is read off raise your hand to let everyone know who you are and save introduction time: _

_Harry James Potter_

Harry raised his hand expecting some sort of reaction from the group of strangers but they all just nodded politely.

_Hermione Jean Granger_

Hermione gave a little wave.

_Ronald Bilius Weasley_

Ron raised his hand still stunned at how Snape had acted when he got there and couldn't stop staring at Electra. "Ron," he said.

_Arthur Weasley_

Mr. Weasley smiled and waved.

_Molly Weasley_

Electra gave a small huff as Mrs. Weasley raised her hand.

_William Arthur Weasley_

"I go by Bill normally," Bill said smiling.

_Charles Weasley_

"Call me Charlie," Charlie corrected raising his hand.

_Percy Ignatius Weasley_

"Git," Fred and George grumbled as their estranged brother raised his hand.

_Fred Gideon and George Fabian Weasley_

Fred and George smiled broadly as they raised their hands. Travis and Conner looked at them in excitement sensing another pair of pranksters.

_Ginevra Molly Weasley_

Ginny raised her hand saying, "I prefer Ginny."

_Luna Lovegood_

Luna raised her hand her eyes out of focus as usual.

_Neville Longbottom_

Neville raised his hand shyly.

_Draco Lucius Malfoy_

Draco huffed slightly and raised his hand wondering why he was here with all these people most of which he didn't even like.

_Sirius Orion Black_

Sirius grinned cockily and waved.

_Remus John Lupin_

Remus sighed at his friend's antics and rose his hand.

_Nymphadora Tonks_

"Don't call me Nymphadora. I go by Tonks," Tonks said as she waved.

_Minerva McGonagall_

The transfiguration professor rose her hand keeping an eye the two from the new group who looked like they could be twins and pranksters.

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

Dumbledore rose the hand that didn't have the letter in.

_Severus Snape_

Severus rose his hand internally smirking at the confusion he caused when he got there. He noticed where Ron's eyes were. "Mr. Weasley eyes up now." Ron stared at him as Electra's eyes narrowed realizing exactly where he'd been staring. Severus took off his suit jacket and handed it to Electra to use to cover herself up more.

_Electra Persephone Black_

Electra grinned and waved before Nico said, "Your middle name is Persephone?" Electra nodded chuckling. "No wonder she likes you so much," Nico grumbled crossing his arms.

_Nico di Angelo_

Nico half-hearted raised his hand as he was still grumbling to himself.

_Perseus Jackson_

"Percy," Percy said with a shudder. "I never go by my full name." _It normally means I'm about to be attacked._

_Annabeth Chase_

Annabeth raised her hands her eyes never leaving the group of witches and wizards.

_Grover Underwood_

Grover raised one of his crutches and waved.

_Rachel Elizabeth Dare_

Rachel grinned and waved happily.

_Piper McLean_

Piper raised her hand worried about what their reactions would be when they heard her last name but when none of them made any signs of recognizing her famous last name she relaxed.

_Jason Grace_

Jason rose his hand.

_Thalia Grace_

"I never use my last name," Thalia said raising her hand.

_Leo Valdez_

Leo grinned and waved his screwdriver from his tool belt. "Hey guys!"

_Hazel Levesque_

Hazel shyly rose her hand.

_Frank Zhang_

Frank rose his hand.

_Will Solace_

Will rose his hand smiling at his best friend Electra.

_Travis Stoll_

Travis grinned mischievously and waved.

_ Conner Stoll_

Conner grinned the exact same way as his brother and Fred asked, "Are you two twins?"

Conner chuckled, "Everyone always says that but we're not. Travis is older than me by a year."

"And an inch taller," Electra teased causing Travis and Conner to stick their tongues at their best friend.

_Chiron_

Chiron raised a hand.

Dumbledore continued the letter.

_We are working on getting a couple more people here but negotiations are going slow. Start the reading anyways and enjoy._

_The Fates_

Several chairs, couches and bean bags appeared. "Shall we begin then?" Dumbledore asked his eyes twinkling.

* * *

**So a couple things. One if you want to see Electra's outfit the links are on my profile page. **

**Secondly there will be some Molly and Dumbledore bashing as well definitely some light Ron bashing that might increase over time might not as I haven't decided yet. There will also be some Ginny bashing possibly. I'm still playing around with that.**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**Okay first of all since I forgot this in the first chapter: DISCLAIMER! I AM A FEMALE ENGLISH-AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT. OF COURSE I'M J.K. ROWLING AND RICK RIORDAN (NOTE THE HEAVY SARCASM) OF COURSE I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR PERCY JACKSON.**

**Secondly I'm going to respond to some reviews that I couldn't do via pm.**

**Lizzie6410: Great thanks I'll keep your suggestion in mind.**

**Charmed Dragon Witch: Thanks. I'll keep your idea in mind. And yes Leo is definitely cool though I don't think that's the right word since he can light himself on fire. :D**

**KK (Guest): Yeah I almost had Moody and Kingsley there as well but decided not to. I'm only planning on adding four more characters in a few chapters but after that I don't think I will. Thanks for your comments about the pairings.**

**Guest: Thanks.**

**Next with regards to the bashing I've decided that it will only be light Molly and Dumbledore bashing since I'm worried I wouldn't do it right and would screw the whole thing up. Mainly it'll be from Electra's perspective as she is a daughter of Hades and like all children of Hades her fatal flaw is holding grudges.**

**For the pairings I've decided to keep it canon as that is what had the most votes and thanks to all of you who voted/gave me your opinion. Here's the final tallies for the pairings. Oh and I'm going to have Neville/Luna as well since it's one of my favorite noncanon pairings.**

**Harry/Ginny - 6**

**Harry/Hermione - 3**

**Harry/Someone else - 0**

**Ron/Hermione - 4**

**Ron/Lavender - 1**

**Ron/Luna - 3**

**Ron/Someone else - 0**

**Hermione/Draco - 0**

**Hermione/Fred - 2**

**Hermione/Someone else - 0**

**Percy/Annabeth - 8**

**Percy/Electra - 2**

**Percy/Someone else - 0**

**As for who Electra will be paired with that is still up and going. Right now the votes stand:**

**Percy - 2 (eliminated as is going to stay with Annabeth)**

**Fred - 1**

**George - 0**

**Will - 1**

**Leo - 2**

**Charlie - 1**

**Thanks to those who have voted for her pairing so far and now her poll is on my profile since I could only have one up there. Grrr. **

**Anyways I'm done talking now so onto the story. :D**

* * *

Everyone went and sat down. The professors, Sirius, Remus, Draco, Percy and Grover all sat in armchairs while Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Arthur and Molly, Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, and Hazel and Frank all sat on sofas. Chiron remained in his wheelchair and everyone else grabbed a bean bag. Once Electra sat down on hers she pulled off her heels, "Finally able to take these death traps off." All of her friends chuckled knowing how much she hated heels that thin and tall.

"So I think we should start with Mr. Potter's books and then alternate between reading his and Mr. Jackson's," Dumbledore said.

Harry groaned at the fact they had to read his thoughts out loud. Percy muttered quietly in Greek so only Annabeth could hear, "Good because I don't think they'll really want to stop reading my books at the end. Not if they're about what I think they are."

"Alright so the first book is titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," Dumbledore said opening the book to the correct page as Severus, Electra, and Nico's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Philosopher's Stone.

**Chapter 1 The Boy Who Lived**

** Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. **

"Well that's just ridiculous," Fred said.

"Who wants to be normal?" George asked.

"Where's the fun in it?" they said together. The demigods all shifted slightly because they would most definitely want to be normal sometimes with what they went through on all most daily basis.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

** Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. **

"What are drills?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously stunning the demigods because who didn't know what drills were in their minds.

"How about we just write down whatever we don't understand and someone will explain it on a break," Hermione suggested kindly. Mr. Weasley nodded and summoned some parchment.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

"She hasn't changed at all," Severus muttered but Harry caught it.

"You knew Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked in shock.

"We lived in the same neighborhood as children," Severus replied.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

** The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended that she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. **

The demigods all sputtered at the fact that Petunia pretended she didn't have a sister. "How could you do that?" Nico asked shocked. "I couldn't pretend that neither of my sisters exists."

Electra smiled at Nico slightly as she thought, _Yeah and James wasn't good-for-nothing since if he was he wouldn't be in Elysium._

Piper looked at Nico, "I agree though I do pretend Drew isn't my sister with the way she acts and treats everyone."

"I don't blame you in the slightest," Electra said her eyes hardening. "Drew is a bitch."

"Language Electra," Molly said.

Electra rolled her eyes as Jason said, "Trust me if you'd met her, you'd be calling her a bitch as well."

"Agreed," all the demigods said.

Ron looked at Electra, "How do you know them?" Electra just smirked at him.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

** When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, **

"Hang on," Travis said.

"I thought the story had already started," conner continued.

"So what have we been reading?" They asked together.

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

** None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

Annabeth muttered something about owls that no one could really catch.

** At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. **

Harry snorted and at the questioning looks he was getting he explained, "Nothing about Dudley is little…. Except maybe his brain." This last part was muttered to himself, Ron and Hermione.

** It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat sitting on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. **

"What are you doing there Professor?" Charlie asked McGonagall.

McGonagall didn't answer and the demigods looked at him as if he'd gone crazy. "Er… cats can't read signs so…what are you talking about?" Leo asked

"I dunno poodles can read signs so why can't cats?" Percy asked as he, Annabeth and Grover chuckled.

Everyone looked at the son of Poseidon strangely while Electra grinned at Leo, "You'll find out." Leo huffed.

**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive – no **_looking_** at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_or_** signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

** But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. **

_What's wrong with cloaks? _Draco thought highly annoyed. _Stupid Muggle._

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that his was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something... yes, that would be it. **

"Muggles will do anything to convince themselves that we don't exist," Remus said.

_Is he talking about the Mist? _Annabeth thought.

"What's a Muggle?" Percy asked Annabeth quietly.

"How should I know Seaweed Brain?" she replied making Percy pout.

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. **

** Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_He_** didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people on the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road**

Harry choked in surprise. "Wait did he just say….?"

"The world is ending!" Fred and George cried.

** to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

Harry sighed, "That makes more sense."

** He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

** "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"**

** "-yes, their son, Harry-"**

The witches and wizards realized what day it was and all of them except Draco and Severus who hid his emotions looked down in sadness. The demigods looked at Harry figuring that they were talking about him but had no idea what was going on besides Nico who realized what must have just happened.

** Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. **

** He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. **

"So nothing new then?" Ron asked.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_was_** called Harry. He'd never seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. **

Harry made a face, "Thank goodness. I definitely prefer my name."

"Lily would never name you either name," Sirius said chuckling. "She always liked the name Harry."

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if **_he'd_** had a sister like that… **

"Your sister isn't great either," Harry said rolling his eyes.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks…**

** He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

** "Sorry," he grunted, **

Harry stared at the book, "I didn't know he knew that word."

Percy looked at hHarry thinking, _His uncle is starting to sound a lot like Smelly Gabe._

**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at almost being knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passerby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"Do you think that could have been Professor Flitwick?" Ginny asked.

** And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and waked off.**

** Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't improve of imagination.**

Fred, George, Travis, Conner, and Leo looked completely shocked. "How can you not approve of imagination?" they chorused before grinning at each other. McGonagall groaned slightly at that.

Will looked shocked as well since you need imagination for music and poetry.

** As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood – was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

** "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

** The cat didn't more. It just gave him a stern look. **

All the Weasley children, except Percy W. who was doing his best to ignore everyone looked at McGonagall.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention this to his wife.**

** Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). **

"You'll regret that," Mrs. Weasley said.

Electra looked affronted. "I didn't want to have anything in common with that brat," she said. When she saw the questioning looks from everyone except Nico and Severus who knew what she was talking about, the prat Percy W. and Draco, she clarified, "My first word was apparently "No."" She grinned.

"Seriously?" Percy asked staring at Electra.

"Why would that be your first word?" Hermione asked.

Electra grinned. "One of my father's employees came up to him while I was playing near my father. He wanted a pay raise so he could buy more of his Italian suits that he's obsessed with. I swear he must have enough to wear a different one every day for three years. Anyways he's constantly asking my father for a pay raise and he was starting to get irritated. He was about to tell his employee to get back to work cutting him off on his rant about the suits when I said "No." They were both shocked and my father turned to his employee and said "There's your answer." He then left and stopped asking for his raise when I was in the room for at least the next couple years." Percy, Annabeth, and Grover chuckled knowing exactly who she was talking about. Nico and Severus smiled.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

** "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

"He seems to know what's going on," Sirius said smiling.

** "Well, Ted," said the weatherman, **

"Ah that explains it," Sirius said as Tonks grinned.

"I remember my dad talking about the news that night the next day," Tonks said.

**"I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls hat have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

** Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

Bill groaned, "Great he's putting it together."

** Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er – Petunia, dear – you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

** As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

** "No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

** "Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

_"So?" _**snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

** "Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with…you know… **_her_** crowd."**

"Her crowd?" Sirius and Remus asked insulted.

** Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could. "Their son – he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

** "I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

** "What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

** "Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"I think it's a great name," Ginny said before blushing.

** "Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

** He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

** Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn't think he could bear it. **

** The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_were_** involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind….He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over – it couldn't affect **_them_**….**

"Jinxed it," Travis said.

** Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

** A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"Cool," Conner said.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

** Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver hair of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. **

"I wonder who that could be," Fred said thinking.

"I have no idea," George added thinking as well.

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

** Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. **

"Oh I knew," Dumbledore said interrupting himself.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

** He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness. **

"AWESOME!" Leo cried and automatically started thinking about how he could make one of his own.

**Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

** "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

** He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

The demigods, minus the children of Hades, stared at McGonagall wondering how that was possible.

** "How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

** "My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

** "You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

** "All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

** Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

** "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars…. Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

** "You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Eleven years?" Piper said.

"I thought we had it bad," Jason said shocked.

** "I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

** She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_has_** gone, Dumbledore?"**

** "It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

** "A **_what_**?"**

** "A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

** "No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_has_** gone-"**

** "My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_Voldemort_**." **

Piper looked up, "That's French for Flight of Death. What kind of name is that?"

"One for a murdering psychopath who's scared of death," Electra growled.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

** "I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_Voldemort_**, was frightened of."**

** "You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only because you're too noble to use them," Remus said.

** "Only because you're too – well – **_noble_** to use them."**

"You think like Min- " Sirius said but then changed what he was going to say at McGonagall's sharp glare, "Minerva."

** "It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so must since Madam Pomfrey told me she like my new earmuffs."**

** Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_rumors_** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

"I didn't want to believe it," McGonagall said in a low voice.

** It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat not as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

** "What they're **_saying_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – **_dead_**."**

Everyone that knew Lily and James looked down in sadness. No one except Dumbledore, Nico and Electra noticed the sadness in Severus's eyes. Hermione hugged Harry while Ron put his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

** Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

** "Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

"James would've loved to know you cared," Sirius said. "You were his favorite teacher."

** Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

** Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry. But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone."**

** Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

** "It's – it's **_true_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

** "We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"He knows," Harry muttered to Hermione and Ron still angry about how Dumbledore wouldn't look at him at all.

** Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. **

"Cool watch," Leo said trying to lighten the atmosphere.

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back it his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

** "Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_why_** you're here, of all places?"**

** "I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

** "You don't mean – you **_can't_** mean the people who live **_here_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"A letter?!" Mrs. Weasley screeched. "That's no way to tell someone their sister and brother-in-law died so could you take care of your nephew."

** "A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future **

Harry looked almost terrified at the thought before Mr. Weasley said that there wasn't due to a fire that destroyed the paperwork.

** there will be books written about Harry – every child in our would will know his name!"**

"Unfortunately both of those came true," Harry grumbled glaring at the offending book.

** "Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! **

"Actually you could walk a few steps and say a couple words at the time," Sirius said sadly.

**Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"Guess that's true though I wish it hadn't been with my aunt and uncle," Harry muttered.

** Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

** "Hagrid's bringing him."**

** "You think it – **_wise_** – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," Harry said. "Just not my secrets." He smiled.

** "I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

** "I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not carless. He does tend to – what was that?"**

** A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Sirius grinned.

** If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_wild_** – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"The bundle just ruins the scary image," Tonks said.

** "Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relived. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

** "Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sire."**

Sirius grinned, "I miss my bike."

** "No problems, were there?"**

** "No, sir – house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarming around. He fell asleep as we as flyin' over Bristol." **

** Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"You were an adorable baby," Remus said smiling. "And you always fell asleep when you were flying in the motorbike."

** "Is that where - ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

** "Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

** "Couldn't you do something about it Dumbledore?"**

** "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself that is a perfect amp of the London Underground. Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with." **

"Did not need to know that," Fred and George said making a face.

** Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

** "Could I – could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

** "Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

** "S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles-"**

** "Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself , Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"You left him on the doorstep?" Hermione asked incredulously. Annabeth and Piper exchanged glances as that was how they were given to their fathers.

** "Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." **

** "Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

** Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

** "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

** Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. **

** "Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

** A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!"**

"Well that's the end of the chapter," Dumbledore said. "Does anyone else want to read?"

Hermione's hand was in the air before Annabeth's so Dumbledore passed her the book.


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**KK (Guest): Wow thanks. I don't plan on ever completely abandoning my stories. Even if something happens so I can't write them for a while I'll come back to them eventually. I know that there's a lot of information at the Percy Jackson wikia so I might use some of that at some point. :D No problem. If people are going to take the time to tell me what they like and don't like about my stories I'm going to take the time to read their opinions since they help me out with my writing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't nor will I ever own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson... unless J.K. Rowling or Rick Riordan give me the rights.**

**I'm still trying to figure out who Electra should end up being paired with so if you could go to my poll on my profile or let me know who you would like to see her with I'd really appreciate it. I'm going to keep it open for a few more chapters so here's where the votes stand.**

**Fred - 2**

**George - 0**

**Charlie - 1**

**Will - 1**

**Leo - 2**

* * *

Hermione opened the book and started reading.

**Chapter 2 The Vanishing Glass**

** Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"Really the Burrow changes all the time," Bill said. "Of course that is partly because of the twins."

Fred and George grinned, "Well no change is boring."

**The sun rose up on the same tidy font gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantleplace really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball **

Ron snickered.

"Did he really look like that?" Hazel asked.

"Yep," Harry replied.

**wearing different colored bonnets – but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blonde boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousal at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house too.**

"And why is that Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Did you run away?" Leo asked

"Did someone come and take you away?" Thalia asked.

Harry shook his head as Sirius and Remus said, "Neither of us could."

"Why not?" Piper asked confused. She didn't really know any of them that well but she could tell that they were both close to Harry. She thought it might be an Aphrodite thing to be able to tell when people care about others deeply even if it was just a family bond.

"Their government is completely stupid," Electra said.

Percy W. went red. "The Ministry is not stupid. We do what is best for the wizarding world which includes showing the public how Potter is a lying attention seeking brat and to prevent them from panicking from your lies about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named being back when he has been dead for years."

Electra stood up her normally silver eyes a stormy grey much like Annabeth's. "First of all Mr. I-Betrayed-My-Family-For-Power," she said and all the demigods who knew about Luke stared at her and Percy W. "Voldemort is not dead and has never been dead…" she trailed off into Greek mutterings and insults. "Secondly the Ministry has done a great many things wrong and they'll be exposed in Harry's books so shut it." She flopped back onto her beanbag.

"You betrayed your family for power?" Travis asked angrily. Conner was unable to say anything other than angry sputters. Percy W. blatantly ignored them and unknown to him he and Ron were both thinking the same thing. They were both wondering if the strangers were Death Eaters.

Katie put her hand on Travis's shoulder to comfort him about the reminder of Luke. He and Conner still hadn't completely forgiven their half-brother even though he had been a hero at the end.

"So wizarding world huh?" Leo asked trying to break the tension between most of the demigods and the redhead family.

Electra looked at him, "Yes wizarding world."

"Awesome!" Leo said grinning.

"Well that clears some things up from the last chapter," Jason said.

** Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

** "Up! Get up! Now!"**

** Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

** "Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Not a dream Harry," Sirius said grinning. "You loved my bike."

** His aunt was back outside the door.**

** "Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

** "Nearly," said Harry.**

** "Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"They made you cook?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked indignantly snapping out of her depression over her third eldest.

Hermione glared at Harry, "Since you were how old."

Harry shrugged, "Since I was old enough to see over the stove but it's fine.-"

Mrs. Weasley looked at him aghast, "You could have hurt yourself."

Harry looked at her, "If I didn't cook we would have all died of food poisoning years ago because my Aunt can't cook at all. Plus I enjoy cooking."

** Harry groaned**

** "What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"He didn't say anything," Ginny growled.

**"Nothing, nothing…."**

Ginny went pink and Piper noticed recognizing that she was in love with Harry.

**Dudley's birthday – how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, **

Ron and Annabeth had both shuddered at the first mention of spiders and when the book said Harry was used to them they both stared at said wizard. "How can you be used to spiders?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged bracing himself for the upcoming reactions. When Hermione didn't start reading again Ron looked at her, "Why aren't you reading Hermione." She looked at him her eyes narrowed in anger.

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

Hermione spat out that sentence and turned to Harry, "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked amongst the yells and cursing of the others. Sirius was growling and debating the best ways to kill the Dursleys without getting thrown back in Azkaban. Remus was thinking that he was going to help Sirius with whatever his friend had planned, his eyes an amber shade. Draco was surprised that Potter wasn't a spoiled brat. Ginny, Neville and Luna were completely stunned. Fred and George were furious and confused because they remembered that Harry had a bedroom when they went to rescue him. Bill and Charlie were angry even though they barely knew Harry no one should treat their own family like that. McGonagall was yelling at Dumbledore who was also being glared at by Severus. Mr. Weasley was comforting his wife who was sobbing. Percy W. was trying to convince himself that it was a lie but part of him was reminding him about what Harry looked like when he came to their house. The demigods were all angry about his treatment by his family.

Electra glared at Harry her arms crossed, "Why didn't you tell us Harry?"

Harry looked over at her and to his surprise her eyes were a very dark grey. They were almost black but not quite. "It never came up and I have a bedroom right now so it doesn't matter."

Ron opened his mouth to protest but Harry took the book from Hermione and started to read. Tonks took out a notebook and started to make a note of the Dursley's offenses to see if she get them arrested for child abuse.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all of Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise – unless of course it involved punching somebody. **

"He sounds like Clarisse in the fact that he loves punching people," Percy muttered to Annabeth.

"She has gotten a bit better since she started dating Chris," Annabeth replied as Hermione took the book back from Harry.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, **

Growls were heard from Harry's friends and adoptive family.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

"That's not all the cupboard Harry," Remus said as he was calmer than Sirius. "Both your parents were small and skinny until about sixth year your father especially."

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. **

"James, James, James, Lily," Sirius said ticking them off on his fingers.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. **

Growls filled the room again.

**The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thing scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"Hold on a minute you actually liked it?" Ron asked.

"I didn't know how I got it," Harry replied. "It was different."

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when you parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."**

"Bull shit," Electra growled. "They didn't die in a car crash." Nico and Severus nodded in agreement to the confusion and shock of the others.

**_Don't ask questions _– that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way – all over the place.**

"Lily hated that about James's hair," Remus said.

Sirius chuckled, "I remember she tried to cut it short once. It didn't work out so well." Harry grinned at the new information about his parents.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blonde hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Fred, George, Ron, Electra, Travis, Conner and Leo laughed at the description.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"No one child should be that spoiled," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I don't even get that many," Draco muttered.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that popkin? _Two_ more presents. Is that all right?"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…."**

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

Mr. Weasley was writing down the various gifts.

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"That's not very nice Harry," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I was ten years old and about to be able to either be home alone or go to the zoo for the first time," Harry replied.

**"We could always phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Feeling is mutual," Harry growled.

Electra tilted her head at the woman's name, "Hey Harry isn't that the one you mentioned the summer before our third year?" Harry nodded and Electra and Ron grinned.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there – or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Sirius chuckled, "Don't let your father hear that. He's terrified of slugs."

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend – Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"No that's Percy's job," Grover said.

"I don't blow stuff up," Percy protested.

Annabeth and Grover looked at him like he was insane. "Do you need a list Seaweed Brain" Annabeth asked. "The Arch, Mt. St. Helens…" Percy glared at her and mumbled something in Greek.

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "…and leave him in the car…."**

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

"Oh yes worry about the car and not the fact that leaving a child in the car alone is illegal," Hermione grumbled interrupting herself.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying – it had been years since he'd really cried – but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

**"Dinky Diddydums, **

The ridiculous nickname set off laughter amongst many of the readers particularly the pranksters/jokesters.

**don't cry. Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. **

**Just then, the doorbell rang – "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically – and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"If you can't cry in front of your friends than they aren't really your friends," Luna said staring at the ceiling.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy – any funny business, anything at all – and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"I was at Hogwarts for Christmas," Harry said forestalling any questions.

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

"Still don't," Harry muttered glaring at Percy W.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. **

**Once, Aunt Petunia tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." **

Remus and Sirius both laughed. "That won't work."

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. **

"That's exactly what happened with James," Remus said smiling.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he _couldn't _explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

Glares were sent at the book. "Petunia knows about accidental magic though," Severus said quietly again shocking the wizards. Electra bit her lip to keep from laughing. She was enjoying seeing their shocked faces and she could tell that her brother did too.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

Piper looked sick. "That is just disgusting."

She shuddered and Leo walked over and poked her in the shoulder before whispering in her ear, "Your Aphrodite is showing Beauty Queen." Piper went to smack him but Leo dodged laughing as he went back to his seat.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided that it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed the wind must have caught him mid jump.**

"First of all that is a terrible excuse-" Fred said.

"Secondly you need to learn to lie better," George finished.

"We can teach you," Travis and Conner chorused grinning.

"You shouldn't be lying at all," Mrs. Weasley replied. Travis and Conner looked insulted since their father was the god of lies.

**But today, nothing was going to wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"I don't think he likes to complain about you at all Harry," Leo said jokingly.

**"…roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

Hermione smacked Harry on the back of the head with the book. "You're such an idiot."

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his taking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon – they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Harry where can we get these cartoons?" Fred and George asked.

"We'll show you," Leo said gesturing to him and the Stolls.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursley's bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

Grumbling was heard from Sirius at this.

** It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"Spoilt brat," Charlie grumbled.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can – but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

"Well that's no fun," Conner said pouting.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley order. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself – no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"You're comparing yourself to a snake Potter," Malfoy sneered.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **

**_It winked. _**

Annabeth stared at the book and then at Harry saying, "But that's not possible snake's don't have eyelids so they can't blink." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"It might just have looked like it since Harry can talk to snakes," Remus said thinking.

"How did you find out?" Harry asked.

"Skeeter's article," Sirius replied, "that she published last year."

Harry nodded and looked over at the group of people that he didn't really know. They didn't look freaked out at all and some of them were saying something to Percy in a foreign language while they all laughed.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

**_"I get that all the time." _**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see – so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"That wasn't at all strange to you?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head as Ron said, "Oh that's what you meant."

"Second book," Harry said answering the questioning looks.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNKAE! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE_ WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened – one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"What happened?" Will asked.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"That's very advanced accidental magic Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

Harry smiled thinking, _I wonder if he ever made it to Brazil._

**The keeper of the reptile house has in shock.**

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"Into nonbeing which is to say everything," Luna said.

"Well stated Miss Lovegood," McGonagall said.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But wore of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

The majority of people groaned. They knew nothing good would come of that.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go – cupboard – stay – no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"No meals?!" many of the females shrieked. Electra's eyes narrowed and the room darkened slightly before Severus noticed what was going on and gave her a look. She got control of herself and most people didn't pay attention well besides the demigods who knew what was going on.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"So that's how he manages to not get caught," Severus muttered.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

"You remember that?" Sirius asked surprised.

Harry nodded, "And more know thanks to the Dementors."

**This, he supposed was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. **

Sirius and Remus growled at that.

"I have photos now," Harry replied. Remus smiled remembering the letter he got from Hagrid.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; **

"Sorry Harry," Remus and Sirius said.

"It's not your fault. Quit beating yourself up about it." Harry told them.

"Do you want me to knock some sense into them?" Electra asked with a smile.

"Not yet but thanks," Harry said as Percy grimaced slightly to himself. He knew Electra's methods of knocking sense into people and not all of them involved fighting.

**the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe he hoped) that the strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way the seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"I wonder if that was Kingsley," Tonks said. "It sounds a bit like him."

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody like to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"We would," all of Harry's friends chorused.

"So who wants to read next?" Hermione asked. Annabeth raised her hand and got the book from Hermione.


	4. The Letters From No One

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything except Electra Persephone Black.**

**KK (Guest): Thanks. I was planning on changing up the Harry Potter books a bit to incorporate Electra more though I have no idea as to what she'll do in the seventh book since she's a daughter of Hades and it's a Horcrux hunt but the trio don't know she's a demigod so I'm still working on that but I've got plenty of time to figure that out. With Percy's books Electra isn't really going to be mentioned very much. She show up briefly in the first book but she won't really show up until the fourth and fifth books. I'll do my best not to change too much in Harry's books but I do have some things planned in the first book with Fluffy and the trolls. Again thanks and it's no problem. Like I've said before I like hearing people's opinions and ideas.**

**Voting for who Electra is still open. The votes stand at:**

**Leo: 4**

**Fred: 3**

**Charlie: 3**

**Will: 2**

**George: 0**

* * *

Annabeth opened up the book and watched surprised as the letters changed from English to Greek. She smiled because that would make it easier for her and the other dyslexic demigods to read.

**Chapter 3 The Letters From No One **

** The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started **

"When is Dudley's birthday?" Hermione asked dangerously.

"June 23," Harry sighed.

The demigods that actually went to mortal school looked confused. "But don't the summer holidays start in the early part of June?" Percy asked.

Electra looked at him, "In America Percy yes. Not in England." Percy nodded in understanding.

"A month?" Hermione asked Harry angrily.

Annabeth stared at Harry, "What did you do about school?" Hermione looked at Annabeth as she was going to say something similar.

Harry shrugged, "They said I was sick."

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. **

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting. **

"You know what sounds good right now?" Electra asked. "Dudley Hunting. Who's in?" The demigods, Weasley children that actually believed Harry, Hermione and Neville surprisingly raised their hands.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. **

"So let me get this straight," Sirius said his eyes narrowed. "Your cousin goes off to a private school which are normally expensive and you were signed up for a local school before you found out about Hogwarts?" Harry nodded.

Leo chuckled, "What kind of name is Hogwarts? It sounds like a pig with a skin condition."

**Dudley thought this was very funny. **

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" **

Grover, Travis, Conner, Will, and Annabeth laughed. Percy grinned.

"There's nothing funny about that," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"Actually it reminded us about something funny that happened when someone that we know tried to do the same thing to Percy," Will said grinning. The demigods that weren't there looked confused.

"You'll find out in my books," Percy said causing them to grumble.

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

"Your mother's cheek," Remus said laughing.

"I don't you had to run Harry," Charlie said. "I don't think your cousin could've figured out what you meant." Harry chuckled nodding.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. **

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. **

Piper looked sick but she wasn't the only one.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life. **

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, **

Fred and George looked sick, "Ron we are never calling you Ickle Ronniekins again."

**he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. **

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. **

**"Your new school uniform," she said. **

**Harry looked in the bowl again. **

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." **

** "Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." **

"It won't," Piper said.

"Beauty Queen's right," Leo said running to hide behind Electra when Piper glared.

"If you think I'm going to get in the way of an angry Piper you're mistaken Leo," Electra told him smiling.

"But Electra," Leo whined pouting. "I thought we were best friends."

"Yes but I also do have some self-preservation instincts," Electra said ignoring Severus's slight snort. "_Besides Piper can just charmspeak me out of the way._"

Leo pouted.

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. **

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. **

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. **

"He's making the pig do something?" Ginny asked shocked.

**"Make Harry get it." **

**"Get the mail, Harry." **

"Oh never mind then."

"Harry," Ron said. "He said your name."

Harry stared at the book in shock. "Must be because Dudley just said it."

**"Make Dudley get it." **

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." **

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and — a letter for Harry. **

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives **

"I wrote and sent gifts every year," Remus said his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah and Ginny wrote you a ton of letters," Bill said ignoring his sister's glare.

"All of Harry's mail was diverted to a vault in Gringotts for when he wishes to receive them," Dumbledore said calmly. Remus glared at him annoyed that Harry didn't get any of his birthday or Christmas presents.

**he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: **

**Mr. H. Potter **

**The Cupboard under the Stairs **

**4 Privet Drive **

**Little Whinging **

**Surrey **

"How did you not notice that?" Tonks asked.

"Self-addressing quill," McGonagall replied. "We will be keeping an eye on it from now on though."

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. **

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. **

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. **

"That was a joke," Travis asked insulted.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. **

Several people groaned, "You should've opened it in the hall."

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" **

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" **

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. **

**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back. **

** "Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. **

"Ew not eating porridge again," Ron muttered.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. **

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. **

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!" **

"Seems she's still a drama queen," Severus muttered.

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly. **

**"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine." **

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. **

**Harry didn't move. **

"Uh oh" Hermione and Ron said.

"Here comes Harry's temper," Hermione said as some people were giving her a confused look.

"I take it he got Lily's temper," Sirius said chuckling.

_We've probably seen worse, _Many of the demigods thought particularly those who had seen Clarisse, Percy, Nico, Thalia, Electra, or any of the gods' tempers.

**"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted. **

"Yeah that's Lily's temper," Remus chuckled.

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley. **

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. **

"That's the better place anyway," Travis said knowledgably.

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" **

**"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. **

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" **

"That wouldn't work," McGonagall said. "We'd come and find out why it was them answering and not Mr. Potter."

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. **

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" **

**"But —" **

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?" **

Everyone who understood turned to look at Harry. Dumbledore's twinkle had gone out. "Harry did they ever beat you?" Mr. Weasley asked his eyes flashing in anger.

"No," Harry replied firmly.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. **

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" **

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it." **

"That's illegal," Tonks growled.

**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it." **

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. **

**"Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom. **

"The pig had a second bedroom and you slept in the cupboard?" Sirius growled his eyes flashing dangerously.

**"Why?" said Harry. **

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." **

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. **

"So let me get this straight," Remus said. "Your aunt and uncle didn't throw out any of the broken stuff just to have an excuse not to give you your own room?" Harry nodded and Remus's eyes narrowed.

**The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched. **

Annabeth, Hermione and Remus looked scandalized.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there… I need that room… make him get out…" **

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it. **

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. **

"Good," Mrs. Weasley said. "At least they are showing some sense at least and not giving in."

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. **

"Hindsight is a bitch," Bill said.

"Language Bill," Mrs. Weasley said. "There are children present."

Bill rolled his eyes, "I'm pretty sure that everyone here is a teenager or an adult Mum."

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'" **

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. **

"So you had practice Harry?" Ron asked. Harry nodded as he, Hermione, Electra and Ron laughed.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. **

**"Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan. **

"Not good," Hermione said. "Your plans never work."

"Unless they're planned last minute," Ron said causing Harry to pout.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. **

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door — **

**"AAAAARRRGH!" **

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something alive! **

"Please be the uncle," several people whispered.

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. **

Those who had been hoping it was Vernon cheered.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink. **

**"I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. **

"That's just cruel," Mr. Weasley said.

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. **

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up." **

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." **

"Listen to her she knows what she's talking about." Severus sighed.

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. **

"I'm glad we don't think like him," Charlie said.

"How can you try to use a slice of fruitcake to knock in a nail?" Rachel asked making some people who had forget she was there jump.

_Idiotic Muggles, _Draco thought.

"And that is why I cook," Harry explained. "Her fruitcake was rock hard."

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. **

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises. On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. **

"Wow someone's getting creative," Sirius said grinning at McGonagall. "Maybe we rubbed off on you after all." McGonagall's eyes narrowed dangerously.

**While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. **

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement. **

** On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. **

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" **

"Alright it is official," Grover said. "He's gone completely nuts."

"Do you think Mr. D. paid him a visit?" Percy asked smiling. The demigods all laughed or cracked a smile while the wizards looked completely confused.

Electra noticed this and was reminded of how separate her two lives were. She hated how she was split between the two worlds with neither one knowing or understanding the other. She was actually glad that these books had come because maybe then she wouldn't feel quite as isolated wherever she was because everyone would know about everyone else and what they go through. No more secrets. She groaned to herself when she realized that Severus would end up finding out what had just happened that summer. He was not going to be happy when he heard how she and Nico went through Tartarus and then got caught by Gaia and had to go into a death trance to survive before fighting in the war.

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one — **

**"Out! OUT!" **

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. **

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" **

** He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. **

"It was more because he was pulling it out," Harry said.

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"Idiot those won't fit," Thalia said. "Boys." The male demigods rolled their eyes while the wizards looked insulted.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. **

**"Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this. **

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer. **

"Welcome to Harry's life," Ginny sneered.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… **

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. **

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." **

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: **

**Mr. H. Potter **

**Room 17 **

**Railview Hotel **

**Cokeworth **

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared. **

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. **

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. **

"Yeah Mr. D. has definitely paid him a visit," Percy said nodding.

"Who's Mr. D.?" Harry asked.

"The head of our camp," Annabeth explained.

"You'll meet him in my books," Percy added.

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. **

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled. **

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television." **

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Happy Birthday!" Fred, George, Travis, Conner, and Leo cried laughing.

"You're about six months too early or late," Harry replied smiling.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day. **

Sirius's eyes narrowed making a mental note to spoil Harry on his next birthday and Christmas and probably the next couple after that. He glanced at his niece and decided to do the same for her. He didn't think she ever got much on her birthday and Christmas judging by whom she lived with.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. **

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" **

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there. **

"That's his perfect place?" McGonagall asked shocked.

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" **

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. **

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" **

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. **

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. **

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. **

"That's not a proper meal!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully. **

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. **

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. **

"Sounds like your dad is mad at something," Piper whispered to Jason.

**Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket. **

Angry growls came from both Remus and Sirius.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. **

"I was wondering why you weren't replying and how much longer it would be until he got to you," McGonagall said.

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. **

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? **

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him **

"Do it!" Leo said punching the air.

**three… two… one… **

**BOOM. **

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in. **

"Who's that?" Ginny asked.

"As long as it's not a monster you should be alright," Annabeth said.

"It was my first friend," Harry said confused as to what Annabeth meant by monster.

* * *

**Wow I didn't expect this chapter to only take me two days to get done. From now on though at least through the first book I'm going to alternate between this story and A Better Future It's Possible since they are now at the same chapter in the book.**


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson nor will I ever.**

**KK (Guest): Again thank you. I like hearing people's suggestions as they help spark ideas of my own. I actually do like Ron even if he isn't one of my all time favorite characters so don't worry the only negative commentary about him would be when he acting like a complete ass (Halloween, tournament, etc.). I like cookies. Cookies are cool. Thanks. What kind? Thanks I'm glad I've got the characters acting fairly normally. Severus might be a little OOC occasionally but that'll because he's different than in the book but I'll do my best to keep him fairly canon. Thanks yet again.**

**Alright so the voting is closed and the winner is... LEO! Yep so Electra and Leo will be getting together during the readings. Here's the final tally:**

**Leo: 8**

**Fred: 6**

**Charlie: 3**

**Will: 2**

**George: 0**

**Thanks to everyone who voted.**

* * *

"Ok so who wants to read next?" Annabeth asked holding the book up.

"I will!" Conner said and most of the demigods gasped in shock.

Fred looked at Electra who had her hand over her heart. "You alright Electra?"

Electra looked back at Fred, "Conner – he- he – he's volunteering to read a book."

Conner glared at her saying, "Oh shut up Death Girl."

"Nah I'm good Conner," Electra said. "How about how read before Mrs. Weasley chews you out for calling me one of my many nicknames." Conner nodded and opened the book.

Hermione looked between the two of them thinking, _That's a strange nickname why would he call Electra that._

**Chapter 4 The Keeper of the Keys **

**BOOM.**

Conner shouted this part and when he received several glares said, "What? It's in capitals so it must be shouted. Otherwise it's boring."

Remus grumbled something about sensitive ears.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

**"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. **

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. **

Hermione, Annabeth, Rachel, and Piper gasped in shock and outrage while the rest of the demigods from camp, Remus, Sirius, Tonks and McGonagall glared at the book. Conner, though he would deny it later, let out a little squeak of fear from the glares being directed at him.

"That is not something to have around children," Chiron said his voice still calm but with angry undertone.

"What is a rifle?" Mr. Weasley asked confused.

"It's a firearm that can shoot bullets, little metal balls or shells, at high speeds," Sirius said. "If a bullet hits you it can either kill you or just cause you pain depending on where it hits you." In answer to the surprised looks he said, "I took Muggle Studies to piss off my mum."

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" **

**There was a pause. Then — **

**SMASH! **

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. **

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. **

"He's only half giant Harry," Hermione corrected smiling.

"I know that now Hermione," Harry said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Giant?" Hazel asked shocked.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked noticing several of the demigods had gone pale some more so than others.

"Bad experiences with giants," Percy answered.

Leo and Electra both stared at Percy like he was crazy as they said together, "Bad? That's the best thing you could come up with for what happened?"

Everyone stared at them shocked. "You two just said the exact same thing at the same time," Neville said.

Leo and Electra looked at each other and Electra went slightly pink. Annabeth, Piper, Rachel, and Hermione exchanged looks. Sirius and Nico looked at Leo suspiciously as did Severus except he was a little more subtly.

"What happened?" Ron asked showing his usual amount of tact.

"You'll find out later," Jason said as he urged Conner to continue reading since everyone who had been involved in the giant war, were slipping into dark memories.

**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. **

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all. **

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" **

"Typical Hagrid," Bill chuckled. "Break down a door and tehn ask for a cup of tea."

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. **

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger. **

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. **

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant. **

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. **

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes." **

"First time I ever heard that," Harry said smiling. "And not the last either." Nico's eyes widened when he realized why Harry looked familiar to him besides the similarities to Percy.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. **

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" **

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. **

Conner let out a low whistle. "Wow you sure he's safe?"

"Oh yeah he's perfectly safe," Charlie said.

"His innocently named pets and cooking aren't so much," Bill said. "But Hagrid's fine."

"I've been around him for four and a half years he's fine," Electra said and the demigods relaxed. If a child of Hades could be around this Hagrid without a problem then he was probably fine.

Draco thought about saying what he thought about Hagrid but then realized how outnumbered he was.

"What is your problem with Hagrid?" Ginny asked.

"We told you," Frank said. "Bad experiences with giants."

"It'll be explained in the second half of Percy's books," Thalia explained. "And then you'll understand our reactions."

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. **

**"Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." **

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harrywritten on it in green icing. **

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?" **

**The giant chuckled. **

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." **

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm. **

Everyone who had had their hands shaken by Hagrid rubbed their shoulders. Arthur chuckled, "He really doesn't know his own strength."

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. **

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. **

"He fit all of that in his coat?" Will asked.

Harry nodded saying to appease Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall, "He drank Butterbeer by the way." The two women relaxed but the demigods just looked confused since to them Butterbeer sounded alcoholic.

**Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." **

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." **

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." **

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

**"Er — no," said Harry. **

**Hagrid looked shocked. **

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly. **

**"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?" **

**"All what?" asked Harry. **

"Hagrid isn't going to like that," Fred said grinning.

"The Dursleys are in so much trouble," George said.

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" **

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. **

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?" **

"You took that the wrong way didn't you Harry?" Electra asked.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad. **

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." **

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." **

**"What world?" **

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. **

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed. **

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. **

**"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." **

**"What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" **

Draco opened his mouth to say something derogatory either about Harry's parents or Harry loving his fame but shut his mouth again at the glare Electra sent him. She wasn't about to take any of his idiotic comments especially right now while she was still on edge from memories from the Giant War trying to resurface.

**"Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. **

**"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally. **

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. **

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. **

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?" **

**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly. **

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. **

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. **

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard." **

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. **

**"I'm a what?" gasped Harry. **

"Nice reaction Harry," Hermione said smiling.

"Really what was yours?" Harry asked.

"I asked Professor McGonagall to prove it since I didn't really believe it at the time," Hermione replied.

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." **

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read: **

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) **

**Dear Mr. Potter, **

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. **

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. **

** Yours sincerely, **

** Minerva McGonagall, **

**Deputy Headmistress **

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"That's the first thing you asked?" Draco sneered.

Harry glared at him. "Yes actually partly because it was the last thing I read but mainly that it had to do with some sort of response to the letter that was due on July 31 which happened to be that day."

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down: **

"You could read it upside down?" Sirius asked shocked. Harry nodded.

"He had an owl in his coat?" Annabeth asked outraged.

"It was most likely a special breed of owl that likes warm enclosed spaces," Charlie said.

**Dear Professor Dumbledore, **

**Given Harry his letter. **

**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. **

** Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. **

** Hagrid **

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone. **

Annabeth grumbled something in Greek about cruelty to owls.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. **

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. **

**"He's not going," he said. **

**Hagrid grunted. **

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. **

**"A what?" said Harry, interested. **

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." **

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!" **

Several of the adults eyes narrowed again at the reminder about stamping out magic. Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle.

**"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a — a wizard?" **

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. **

"How?" Harry asked. "I thought you couldn't do magic outside school."

"The teacups were accidental magic," Severus explained.

**I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! **

Leo, Travis, Conner, Nico, Thalia, and Hazel's eyes narrowed. Travis and Conner didn't have the best relationship with their mother and she had called them freaks a couple times before they decided to stay year-round at Camp Half Blood. Thalia had a similar situation with her mother between the time of Jason's "death" and when she ran away. Hazel remembered how the other kids at her school in her old life would treat her.

Leo remembered how his Aunt Rosa treated him after his mother's death like he was a freak and unknowingly started to smoke. Electra noticed this and sent a muttered _Aquamenti _spell at him hitting him in the face and dousing any flames that were sparking.

Leo sputtered and yelled, "Percy!"

"It wasn't me!" Percy said raising his hands. "Just ask Annabeth."

"You were smoking," Electra said smiling as she put her wand back in Severus's jacket pocket that she was still wearing.

"Oh thanks," Leo said smiling but still a little confused as to how Electra managed to hit him with water. He figured it would probably have something to do with that stick she put in her pocket.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" **

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. **

"She probably has," Severus muttered.

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!" **

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" **

"That's how you found out?" Tonks asked her hair turning a fiery red.

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently. **

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. **

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'." **

Harry shuddered, "That would've been bad."

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. **

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…" **

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —" **

**"Who?" **

"Hagrid hates saying the name," Charlie said. "He won't say it."

**"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

**"Why not?" **

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" **

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. **

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested. **

**"Nah — can't spell it. All right —Voldemort. " **

Charlie stared at Harry, "Wow you can do the impossible."

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. **

"He probably will eventually," Rachel said staring at the book.

Electra groaned, "Great thanks for that Rachel. Just what I needed to know."

"You're welcome," Rachel said smiling. The Brits stared at the two girls wondering why they were talking like that.

** "Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! **

Remus and Sirius chuckled. "And it's still a mystery as to how James got the badge," Sirius said remembering the look of shock on James's face when he got his letter.

**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. **

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —" **

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. **

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anyway… **

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts — an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." **

The Weasleys and Sirius looked down in sadness. Mrs. Weasley sobbed into Mr. Weasley's shoulder while Ron explained to Harry that the Prewetts were Mrs. Weasley's brothers Gideon and Fabian. Electra had walked over to her uncle and given him a hug remembering how he had told her once how he had been engaged to Marlene before she was killed.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. **

**Hagrid was watching him sadly. **

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…" **

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. **

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured — and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion — asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —" **

"How dare he?!" Electra yelled glaring at the book and making Conner shrink back. He knew she wasn't glaring at him but he still hated when she glared in his direction.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…" **

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. **

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. **

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. **

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?" **

"You didn't say his name?" Ron asked shocked.

"It made Hagrid uncomfortable so I didn't say it," Harry said before grinning. "It didn't last long though."

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go? **

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. **

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. **

"Maybe that's why they came out of trances," Luna said. "Because he lost his powers not because he died."

"He is dead," Percy W. hissed.

"No he isn't and you'll find out just how undead he is soon," Harry replied annoyed.

"Undead," Electra mused. "Good way to describe him right now."

**Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — I dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right." **

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football? **

"Unfortunately magic doesn't work like that

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard." **

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. **

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?" **

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him? **

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. **

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts." **

Harry sighed, "I really wish I wasn't."

Severus looked at him wondering if Electra really was right and Potter really was more like Lily and not his father.

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight. **

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —" **

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—" **

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. **

Charlie laughed, "Oh the whale's done it now."

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. **

"Dude what happened?" Travis asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If you let your brother read then we would find out."

Travis rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry Annie."

"Don't call me that," Annabeth said.

**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers. **

All of the teenagers/young adults (except Percy W. and Draco) were laughing as well as Sirius and Remus. Arthur and Chiron chuckled slightly while McGonagall smiled ever so slightly.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. **

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. **

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." **

"Go Hagrid!" Charlie cheered laughing.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job." **

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry. **

**"Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

**"Why were you expelled?" **

"He won't tell you," Sirius said. "Whenever we asked he would change the subject."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Electra smirked at him.

"How did you find out?" Remus asked shocked.

"Second book," Harry explained.

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." **

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry. **

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets." **

"That's the end of the chapter," Conner said closing the book.

"I'm hungry," Ron said.

"You're always hungry," Hermione sighed.

"I'll fix dinner after the next chapter," Mrs. Weasley said.

"By the way Grover and I are vegetarian," Piper said and Mrs. Weasley nodded.

"I think that after the next chapter we should stop reading for the day," Dumbledore suggested. "Get to know each other a bit better."


	6. Diagon Alley

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY OR PERCY'S WORLDS AND UNFORTUNATELY NEVER WILL.**

**KK (Guest): Thanks. Definitely chocolate chip. Chocolate is the best. I'm not entirely sure but I was thinking I might put it all in one story except for the fact that that is a lot of chapters but I have several chapters to go until then so I have time to figure it out.**

**Guest: Thanks. **

* * *

"I'll read next," Sirius said taking the book.

**Chapter Five Diagon Alley **

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight. **

**It was a dream, he told himself firmly. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard. **

"That sucks to have something good happen to you and you think that it's a dream," Neville said.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. **

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream. **

**Tap. Tap. Tap. **

** "All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." **

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak. **

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. **

"Daily prophet owls," Bill shuddered. "Vicious things when they want to be paid."

**"Don't do that." **

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. **

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —" **

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. **

**"What?" **

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." **

** Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. **

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. **

"He won't know what they are Hagrid," Mrs. Weasley said.

"He probably wants Harry to get used to our money," McGonagall said. "Whenever I go to give Muggleborns their letters I do the same thing to get them used to the money."

Hermione nodded in agreement since McGonagall had done the same thing with her.

**"Knuts?" **

**"The little bronze ones." **

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. **

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched. **

**"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." **

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture. **

**"Um — Hagrid?" **

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. **

**"I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic." **

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" **

**"But if their house was destroyed —" **

"We don't keep gold in our house Potter," Draco sneered.

"Well in Muggle fairytales wizards tended to keep their money in chests either in caves or their homes not banks," Harry replied.

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither." **

**"Wizards have banks?" **

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." **

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. **

**"Goblins?" **

**"Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. **

"Are you planning on robbing it then Harry?" Fred and George asked.

"No," Harry replied.

**Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see." **

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then." **

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. **

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. **

**"Flew," said Hagrid. **

"Flew?" asked Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Neville, Hermione and Electra.

Hermione realized something and started laughing. When she was given funny looks from her friends she managed to say, "Mary Poppins," causing Electra and the demigods except Hazel who didn't know what they were talking about to laugh as well.

"Mary who?" Ron asked confused. The demigods stared at him.

"Mary Poppins," Annabeth said. "A Disney movie about a nanny who flies using her umbrella."

"How do you not know that?" Will asked. "It's a classic."

"The wizarding world is really behind the times," Electra explained.

**"Flew?" **

**"Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." **

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying. **

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?" **

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land. **

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. **

**"Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat." **

"There had better not be dragons down there," Charlie growled at his older brother.

Bill held his hands up in defense. "I'm just a curse breaker I don't know the details about vault security."

"Are you sure you aren't planning on robbing Gringotts?" Travis asked Harry.

"Because if you are you should make sure to at least have Hazel, Nico, or Electra with you," Conner said. "That way you don't get stuck underground."

Electra and Nico looked at each other and chuckled while Harry said, "I'm not going to be breaking into Gringotts unless there's absolutely no alternative because it'll be the end of the world if I don't."

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page. **

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself. **

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice." **

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?" **

"Absolutely nothing worthwhile," Electra grumbled glaring at Percy daring him to speak up against what she said. He just settled for glaring back at her refusing to sink to her level.

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country." **

**"Why?" **

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. **

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?" **

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?" **

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon." **

**"You'd like one?" **

"Yes he would," Remus said.

"Yeah I remember him mentioning it a few times while we were in school," Sirius said.

Charlie, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Electra exchanged glances knowing that Hagrid did get his dragon.

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go." **

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets. **

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. **

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. **

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket. **

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need." **

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read: **

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM **

** First-year students will require: **

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) **

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear **

"Why is that on there?" Ron wondered. "We almost never wear them."

"Tradition,'' McGonagall replied.

"I found a use for it," Harry said remembering that day in charms.

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags **

** COURSE BOOKS **

** All students should have a copy of each of the following: **

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk **

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot **

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling **

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch **

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore **

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger **

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander **

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble **

**OTHER EQUIPMENT **

**1 wand **

**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **

**1 set of glass or crystal phials **

**1 telescope set **

**1 brass scales **

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad **

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS **

"I always disliked that rule," Sirius grumbled. Everyone who knew (minus the teachers) that Harry got on the team his first year hid smiles.

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud. **

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. **

** Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow. **

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. **

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? **

"Impossible they don't believe in imagination," Leo said.

"Wow Repair Boy said something smart," Piper said laughing at Leo affronted look.

"Hey I'll have you know I do have my moments," Leo replied and Electra chuckled slightly earning herself a look from Piper and Hermione.

Piper noticed that Hermione was noticing the same thing that she and Annabeth and decided that she would get the bushy haired Brit to join her and Piper in talking to Electra after this chapter.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him. **

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." **

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. **

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?" **

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle. **

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?" **

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. **

Tonks stared at the book, "I don't believe it the Leaky Cauldron is never silent."

Harry was sitting in his seat grumbling about how he wished people would do that because he hated his fame.

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor." **

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. **

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." **

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. **

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron. **

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud." **

**"Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter." **

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle." **

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." **

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" **

"Diggle's always been an excitable chap" Mr. Weasley said shaking his head a small smile on his face.

**Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. **

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. **

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts." **

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you." **

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" **

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. **

"Strange," Bill said. "He used to be the Muggle Studies professor and didn't have the stutter. I wonder what changed."

_He met Voldemort, _Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Electra said.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble. **

**"Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, Harry." **

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds. **

**Hagrid grinned at Harry. **

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'." **

**"Is he always that nervous?" **

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?" **

"Then why is he teaching the subject if he's afraid of it?" Annabeth asked.

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. **

**"Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." **

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. **

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. **

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley." **

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. **

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them. **

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." **

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…" **

Ron, Ginny and the twins looked at their mother wondering if it had been her since they were in Diagon Alley that day.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… **

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid. **

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was — **

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them: **

**Enter, stranger, but take heed **

**Of what awaits the sin of greed, **

**For those who take, but do not earn, **

**Must pay most dearly in their turn. **

**So if you seek beneath our floors **

**A treasure that was never yours, **

**Thief, you have been warned, beware **

**Of finding more than treasure there. **

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid. **

"It'll be robbed," Rachel said.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked in shock as the bank was indeed robbed unsuccessfully but still.

"Well it's been mentioned several times," Rachel said. "Plus it's a gut instinct."

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter. **

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." **

**"You have his key, sir?" **

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. **

"He won't like that," Bill said knowing what goblins were like.

"So says our resident expert on goblins," Charlie said chuckling.

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals. **

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. **

**The goblin looked at it closely. **

**"That seems to be in order." **

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen." **

**The goblin read the letter carefully. **

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" **

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall. **

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked. **

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that." **

Sirius and Remus groaned. "Hagrid really shouldn't have said that in front of Harry," Remus sighed.

"James and Lily were both extremely curious and wouldn't rest until they got to the bottom of whatever mystery was put in front of them," Sirius said chuckling. "And since Harry's their son…"

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off. **

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. **

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late — they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. **

"That sounds awesome!" Nico cheered grinning.

"It is," Electra told him smiling as well.

"You've been on it?" Nico asked his sister shocked.

"Of course I have," Electra told him. "I have a vault in Gringotts."

Nico pointed at her saying, "Next time you go I'm coming along. What could be better than an underground rollercoaster?"

"An aboveground rollercoaster," Percy replied.

"You just don't like it because it's underground," Nico replied.

"Well no duh," Percy said rolling his eyes. "Me and underground don't mix remember."

Nico smiled. "I remember cuz."

**"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" **

Hermione and Annabeth both looked like they were about to explain but Sirius read on.

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." **

"That's not a proper explanation," Annabeth grumbled.

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. **

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. **

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid. **

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. **

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag. **

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. **

"No it isn't," the demigods, Muggleborns, and Muggle-raised said.

"Yes it is," the pure/half-bloods replied.

"Muggle money operates in units of a hundred," Hermione said. "A hundred pence to a pound. There's a pattern to it that's simple to remember."

"Or a hundred cents to a dollar for the Americans in the room," Electra added grinning.

**Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?" **

**"One speed only," said Griphook. **

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck. **

"Do you have a death wish?" Sirius groaned. Harry shrugged.

Electra grinned, "Nice to know I wasn't the only one to do that." Sirius looked at his niece and sighed in exasperation. Between the two of them he'd likely be completely grey by the end of these books particularly if whatever happened to Electra over the summer was mentioned at all.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. **

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. **

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook. **

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. **

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. **

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask. **

_Well that's a first, _Severus thought. _Potter not butting his nose into where it doesn't belong._

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid. **

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had. **

"Well since a galleon is worth just over five pounds each," Hermione said. "I'd say you do." When people looked at her wondering whether it was something she read she replied, "I've exchanged pounds to galleons there before every school year."

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous. **

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. **

**"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact." **

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. **

Almost everyone in the room turned to look at Draco.

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. **

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" **

**"Yes," said Harry. **

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." **

"What's the point of having your mother look at wands when the wand chooses the wizard?" Fred asked.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. **

Draco looked extremely insulted.

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on. **

**"No," said Harry. **

**"Play Quidditch at all?" **

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be. **

**"I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute. **

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" **

Tonks glared at Draco. "And what is wrong with my house?" she asked her hair starting to turn red. "No wonder I've always been ashamed to be related to you."

"We're related?" Draco asked in shock. He didn't remember his mother or father ever mentioning a family member who was a metamorphmagus.

"Yes our mothers are sisters," Tonks said. "Though thankfully my mother was disowned for marrying a Muggleborn."

Draco's eyes widened in remembrance, while Electra looked at Tonks. "Wait so that means we're related too then," Electra said remembering that she had been told that the Blacks were related to the Malfoys. "That's awesome. Besides the fact that ferret's a part of the family too."

Tonks grinned. "Who was your mother?"

"Cassiopeia Black," Electra replied. "Uncle Sirius's younger sister."

"Oh yeah I remember her vaguely," Tonks said. "I only saw her once or twice before she moved to America not long after she turned eighteen. She was disowned too wasn't she?"

Electra nodded, "Yep same as Uncle Siri though it was because she was a Squib. Uncle Regulus was the only one who wasn't disowned." The demigods looked confused at the word Squib while Sirius's face darkened slightly at the mention of his brother.

Electra noticed her Uncle's slight mood change and thought _If Uncle Sirius knew what Uncle Reg did, he wouldn't act like this. Haha Grandma Black would probably have a fit if she found out. Probably would've disowned him too. Ooh I wonder what she'd say if she ever found out who my father is._

Sirius shook himself out of his dark thoughts and continued reading.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. **

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. **

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." **

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?" **

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second. **

"Me too," Leo said glaring at Draco while the other demigods nodded in agreement.

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." **

Sirius looked slightly guilty, "Actually that was James and me. We accidently set off a firework in his hut."

"Accidently huh?" Harry asked smiling.

"Yes," Sirius replied.

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly. **

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" **

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. **

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?" **

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." **

"Good answer," Tonks said glaring at her cousin.

** "I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" **

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. **

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. **

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts). **

**"What's up?" said Hagrid. **

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" **

"Blasphemy," Fred, George and Charlie said.

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!" **

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. **

**"— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —" **

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were — he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!" **

**"So what is Quidditch?" **

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules." **

"No it isn't," the Quidditch nuts (i.e. Sirius, Fred, George, Charlie, and Ron) said.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" **

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —" **

Tonks glared at the book and Harry spoke up saying, "It's alright Tonks. I interrupted him."

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily. **

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. **

"Actually there are some," Remus said thinking of a traitorous little rat.

**You-Know-Who was one." **

**"Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" **

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. **

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian. **

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." **

"Nice!" the pranksters cheered much to Mrs. Weasley's distaste.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." **

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). **

"I was interested in potions to begin with," Harry said much to Severus's shock.

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

**"Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." **

**Harry felt himself go red. **

**"You don't have to —" **

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at — an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." **

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. **

"She sounds beautiful," Annabeth said smiling.

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell. **

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." **

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to. **

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: **

**Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. **

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic. **

"Good senses Harry," Tonks said. "Not many people notice that."

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. **

_So that was why it broke when I went in, _Electra thought.

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. **

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly. **

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. **

"First wand?" Harry wondered.

"A Slytherin your mother beat in a duel in her sixth year ended up snapping Lily's wand in anger," Remus said remembering that day.

**Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." **

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. **

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." **

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. **

**"And that's where…" **

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. **

"That is creepy," Jason said.

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" **

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid. **

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" **

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid. **

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. **

**"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly. **

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply. **

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke. **

"Oh no of course not," Charlie chuckled.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" **

**"Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry. **

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." **

Neville looked at his wand wondering if that was his problem.

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. **

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave." **

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. **

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —" **

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

**"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." **

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. **

"He does enjoy a tricky customer," Dumbledore said.

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." **

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…" **

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…" **

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?" **

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. **

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar." **

"It saved my life in June," Harry said in response to the looks he was getting.

"You had a bad summer too then," Percy asked. Harry nodded wondering what happened to him and if Electra had any part in it. She had not looked good when he saw her back in August at Grimmauld Place.

**Harry swallowed. **

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." **

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop. **

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder. **

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. **

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. **

"It's always strange when you go back to the muggle world," Electra said thinking _Mortal world as well._

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid. **

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words. **

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died." **

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile. **

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact." **

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. **

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me… See yeh soon, Harry." **

"He didn't tell you how to get on the platform," McGonagall said shocked.

Harry smiled, "I got on fine though." The twins and Ron grinned while Severus was slightly confused since he doubted Petunia would willingly tell Harry how to get on the platform even though she knew how.

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone. **

"Alright that's the end," Sirius said closing the book.

Mrs. Weasley got up to start fixing dinner and Piper stood up. "Electra can we talk?" she asked. "Annabeth you and Hermione wasn't it can come too." Electra looked at the three girls warily wondering what they wanted to talk about.


	7. Break 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR PERCY JACKSON NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS ABOUT IT.**

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**KK (Guest): Thanks. Yeah Diagon Alley isn't most interesting chapter so I'm glad I did alright with it.**

**SlytherinSnake6886: Don't worry I won't be quitting any of my stories. Unless something comes up with college I'll try to update fairly regularly. Thanks. The next chapter will be the Sorting so I hope I do the reactions justice. :D**

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**I was hoping to get this chapter up last week but a French test on Thursday, difficult math homework and inspiration for a Naruto/Harry Potter crossover that came about from reading said types of stories and I might put up here it, posting this chapter didn't end up happening. Hopefully as long as college is kind to me I plan on updating either every Tuesday or every other Tuesday depending on what life throws at me. Anyways this chapter isn't a reading chapter that won't be until next time so enjoy.**

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Electra followed Annabeth, Piper, and Hermione into the meeting room. Once the door was shut behind them Piper turned to Electra grinning. "So I'll just get straight to the point. You like Leo."

Electra stared at Piper turning pink. "Don't try to deny it, Electra," Hermione said smiling. "I saw it too which is probably why I was asked to join."

Electra looked at Hermione saying, "Oh like you don't like Ron." Hermione went red.

Annabeth grinned. "You didn't deny it."

"Ok fine yes I like Leo," Electra huffed. "Happy."

"Yes," Piper replied smiling. "So let's go back and rejoin the others."

They walked back into the other room and Travis grinned at Electra saying, "So Electra this stick thing is a wand?"

Electra's hand flew to her pocket where her wand was but it was empty. She growled at Travis and went to attack him to get her wand back but a pair of arms wrapped around her keeping her in place. "Damn it Conner let me go and Travis give me back my wand."

The brothers chuckled before saying in unison, "Nah this is way too much fun." She glared at Travis and the demigods were chuckling at their antics. Fred and George were the only ones out of the wizards who were laughing having recognized fellow pranksters because the others were wondering just how did they manage to get ahold of Electra's wand when as far as they could see Travis hadn't been anywhere near Electra's pocket.

Electra growled muttering something along the lines of Conner being lucky that she didn't have her heels on. She was debating the best way to get her wand back without revealing too much about her demigod side just yet. She was saved from having to figure it out when Severus walked up behind Travis and took her wand out of his grasp. The brothers mock pouted and Conner let Electra go. She grinned and said, "Thanks Sev."

All the wizards' mouths dropped open in surprise except for Dumbledore and McGonagall who looked on in interest. "No problem," Severus replied tossing Electra's wand back to her and causing those whose mouths had dropped open for their jaws to nearly hit the floor now and even McGonagall to looked shocked. They had all expected Electra to get cursed for using a shortened version of the Potion's professor's first name.

"Where's your respect Electra?" Mrs. Weasley asked looking completely shocked at the display of supposed disrespect. Nico had shrunk back into the shadows to hide the fact that he was suppressing his laughter. He knew that his siblings had kept the fact that they were related a secret so he didn't want to ruin the surprise.

Severus turned to Mrs. Weasley saying, "I wasn't aware that calling a family member by a nickname was disrespectful or have things changed in the past few hours?" Everyone except for Nico who was still trying not to laugh looked between Electra and Severus. A thud rang through the room and they looked at the source to see Sirius passed out on the floor.

Electra glared at her brother. "Now look what you did." She walked over to her uncle. "I swear you're enjoying this," she muttered to her brother who quirked the corner of his mouth up in a slight smirk. Electra rolled her eyes and knelt next to Sirius and poked him in the cheek. "Come on Uncle Siri get up."

Sirius groaned and opened his eyes. He sat up and asked Electra, "Please tell me that he was joking about you two being related."

Electra shook her head. "Sorry Uncle but we are." Sirius groaned realizing that Severus had to be a demigod as well. He just had to hope that he wasn't a child of Hades as well.

Until dinner was ready the young demigods and wizards talked amongst themselves noticing that there were several similarities between them. Annabeth and Hermione ended up getting into an animated discussion about different books that they'd read and Muggle school subjects while Fred and George bonded immediately with Travis, Conner, and Leo much to the dismay of McGonagall and Chiron who really didn't want to deal with the two sets of pranksters working together. At some point Percy W. turned to the demigods and said, "How can we trust you? For all we know you could be Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban when your master was killed."

The young demigods, minus Electra who just rolled her eyes, stared at the Ministry-loving Weasley in shock before bursting out into laughter. "Death Eaters? What kind of name is that?" Percy asked while trying to breathe from laughing so hard.

"Yeah who'd want to eat Death?" Jason asked.

Severus pointed a finger at Electra who huffed and threw a pillow at her brother. "It's not my fault I was teething."

"What happened?" Leo asked grinning.

"I was going through a phase where I'd bite anything in my reach," Electra explained. "He made the mistake of putting his hand a little too close and well I ended up taking a bite out of his hand." The demigods all started laughing again at that and Severus smirked remembering Thanatos's reaction to that.

After a dinner of spaghetti Bolognese they talked amongst themselves a bit more before going to investigate the bedrooms that had shown up. Everyone had their own room with an attached bathroom except for Travis and Conner, Fred and George, Molly and Arthur and Percy and Annabeth all of whom were sharing double rooms. Molly and McGonagall had been a bit upset about the fact that Percy and Annabeth were sharing a room until Chiron calmly explained that the two of them suffered from nightmares about the same experience so they shared a room to comfort one another after one had a nightmare. Everyone's rooms were styled differently as well. Percy and Annabeth's room had a waterfall on one side and a large bookcase on the other. Hermione and Percy W. had similar rooms with several shelves of books in them. Leo's looked like a workshop had exploded with various tools, pieces of metal and contraptions all around it. Will's was full of various musical instruments and was painted a very bright golden yellow while Electra's room was in various shades of red going from blood red all the way to black with fire dancing on the headboard. Everyone said their goodnights and headed to bed.

The next morning Electra woke up and saw a note on her bedside table that instructed her to act like she'd never been able to meet the people that were joining the reading today. She got dressed in a basic t-shirt and yoga pants before heading to the kitchen/dining room for breakfast where she saw that she was the first demigod there but Will, Percy, Annabeth and Leo were right behind her. Mrs. Weasley handed her a goblet of pumpkin juice and Electra started to head to the table where she saw porridge and various additives that they could put into their breakfast. She stiffened when she saw a bowl of small red seeds. Her goblet fell out of her hand to land on the floor with a clatter spilling pumpkin juice over the floor while she started shaking and all the color drained from her face. Everyone in the room looked at her in worry.

"Hey Electra you alright?" Leo asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

Annabeth looked at Electra and then at the table and saw the bowl of pomegranates. "Oh," she said and male demigods followed her gaze.

"Your turn," Percy said to Will who rolled his eyes before hitting a pressure point on Electra's neck knocking her out.

"I'll go lay her on the couch," Will said picking up the daughter of Hades bridal style and leaving before the wizards got out of their shock and started protesting.

"What the bloody hell?" Ron asked.

"Why would you knock out your friend?" Mr. Weasley asked curious and worried at the same time. Sirius and Severus looked at the three demigods in the room wanting an explanation as well.

"She told us to," Leo said. "Because otherwise she would relive some of her worst memories."

"And that wouldn't be pretty," Percy said shuddering knowing firsthand some of what Electra had experienced.

"But what caused her to freak out?" Remus asked.

"The pomegranate seeds triggered her flashbacks," Annabeth replied. Severus's eyes narrowed hoping that her reaction to the pomegranates wasn't because she had had to use them for a death trance.

"Will she be alright?" Sirius asked concerned.

"Yeah," Leo said. "She'll be fine once she wakes up though she probably won't eat much for the rest of the day." Everyone went back to their breakfast and the fruit seeds were removed from the table.

In the living room Will had just laid Electra down and was turning around to head back to the kitchen when he saw a group of people one of whom looked just like Harry. He looked confused for a minute as he had just seen Harry in the kitchen before he saw that the man's eyes weren't green but hazel. He smiled before going back in the kitchen. "You guys should really see this."

Everyone headed out of the kitchen to see what Will was talking about. Sirius and Remus broke into wide grins and went to hug their old friends, James and Lily Potter. Harry stared at his parents and also noticed that there was also a young man who looked like a younger version of Sirius and a young woman who looked like she could be related to Sirius as well. James and Lily went over to greet Harry and Lily was slightly teary eyed seeing her son so grown up.

The young woman Harry had noticed before getting hugged by his parents huffed annoyed. "Oh come on Siri. Are you really just going to ignore me?"

Sirius turned to look at her and grinned. "Cassie!" He engulfed her in a bear hug.

"Who's that Sirius?" Remus asked.

Sirius was about to answer when Electra sat up with a groan. She saw the woman standing next to her uncle and said surprised, "Mum?" She got up and hugged her mom.

Sirius chuckled, "Cassie Black, my younger sister and Electra's mother. Her name is actually Cassiopeia but she almost never uses it."

"Almost never," the last newcomer said. "Try never."

Sirius turned to look at the speaker and his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

Cassie smacked Sirius's shoulder. "Be nice to Reg. You don't know what really happened." Sirius looked at her confused while Harry looked at Regulus in surprise realizing that this was Sirius's Death Eater brother that he had mentioned when they were looking at the Black family tree.

Sirius opted to just ignore his brother for the time being rather than try to figure out what his sister was talking about. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"They'll be joining us in the reading," Dumbledore said looking up from a note that he was reading. "According to the Fates they will be here for the rest of the reading and the only reason they weren't here yesterday was because the negotiations took forever as the person they were negotiating with was being extremely stubborn."

Severus, Nico, Hazel, and Electra were in agreement with that since their father was very stubborn when it came to the dead.

"So shall we begin?" McGonagall asked picking up the book. Everyone took their seats and the transfiguration teacher opened the book to the next chapter.


	8. The Journey From Platform 9 34

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter unfortunately.**

**WHOO! I got House of Hades yesterday! However it was not my reason for not updating yesterday since I haven't even started reading it yet. I want to finish rereading Mark of Athena first and then I shall read the newest edition...mwhahahaha. Ok that was random. Anyway I had meant to update yesterday but adjusting this chapter so that Electra was a part of it took longer than I thought so updates might be a little slower than I'd like from now on.**

**Bold Italic text (_text_) is changes to the books**

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McGonagall opened the book to the next chapter and started reading.

**CHAPTER SIX **

**The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters **

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. **

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me. Just what the hell is my son doing at my sister's when we specifically said in our wills that Harry never was to go there under any circumstances," she hissed at Dumbledore.

"It was the only place for him," Dumbledore replied. Lily growled viciously. "My reasons will be explained." Dumbledore said. "Minerva please continue."

Harry looked at his headmaster. He had never been told why he had to live with his aunt and uncle. McGonagall shot Dumbledore a look wondering what her colleague was thinking before continuing.

**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. **

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. **

"You read it?" Ron and Hermione asked together, Ron in indignation and Hermione excitedly.

"Once," Harry admitted. "I wanted to learn about the new world." Ron thought for a moment before accepting that explanation.

**His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first. **

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, **

"Why did you wait so late?" Grover asked.

"Didn't want him to change his mind," Harry explained.

**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. **

**"Er — Uncle Vernon?" **

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. **

**"Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

**"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" **

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes. **

"You speak troll Harry?" Fred asked grinning.

"Of course he does all you have to do is point and grunt," George said laughing.

**"Thank you." **

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" **

**Harry didn't say anything. **

**"Where is this school, anyway?" **

**"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. **

**"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

Lily snarled, "Petunia knows. She's been there before."

**"Platform what?" **

**"Nine and three-quarters." **

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

**"It's on my ticket." **

**"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly. **

**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings." **

"Why it suits him," Travis said.

"Completes his image since he's a pig in every other way," Conner said and he and his brother grinned.

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes — he'd change on the train. **

James snorted, "At least you had the sense to do that."

"Hey it's not my fault that I didn't know," Sirius grumbled. "Though it was funny seeing all the Muggles' reactions."

"Our parents' didn't learn," Regulus chuckled. "They still wore their robes the next year when they dropped me off at the train. They stopped coming after that thankfully." Sirius had started to glare at Regulus when he started to speak but then ended up looking confused towards the end. He had thought his brother had idolized their parents.

**He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off. **

"Actually she bribed him," Harry grumbled. "I saw her give him a twenty pound note." Lily sighed wondering just what changed with her sister from when they were children.

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. **

**"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. **

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. **

James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Cassie, and Harry's friends glared at the book. Regulus's eyes narrowed.

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. **

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl. **

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten. **

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

**"— packed with Muggles, of course —" **

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. **

"Woo! Enter the Weasleys!" the twins cheered. Lily smiled at the family knowing they would help her son get onto the platform.

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an owl. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mum, can't I go…" **

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" **

**"Sorry, George, dear." **

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, **

"Brilliant," James said grinning. McGonagall groaned. Not only were the Weasley twins and those three Americans there but now the three Marauders were as well. Just great.

**and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? **

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

** There was nothing else for it. **

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." **

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose. **

"Hey!" Ron cried insulted.

"I didn't write this," Harry said in defense.

**"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —" **

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

**"Er — okay," said Harry. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. **

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — **

**It didn't come… **

"This time," Ron and Harry grumbled to the shock of Remus, Chiron and Grover who due to their sharper than average hearing were the only ones who heard.

**he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it. **

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

Said boy went pink saying, "He's always escaping."

"You should have named him Houdini then," Rachel said. "He's a famous escape artist." The last part was added in response to the confused looks she was given.

"No offense Neville," Electra said. "But I really hate your toad. And he hates me. The number of times I've found the evil thing in my trunk."

"Yeah well don't all water creatures hate you?" Percy asked.

"Oh shut it just because they love you," Electra responded.

**"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh. **

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

**"Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. **

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. **

**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

**"Yes, please," Harry panted. **

**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. **

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

**"What?" said Harry. **

**"Harry Potter." chorused the twins. **

**"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am." **

Almost the whole room laughed at Harry's response. Harry huffed, "I wasn't used to people knowing my name."

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

**"Fred? George? Are you there?" **

**"Coming, Mum." **

** With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. _He heard the compartment door open and he heard a girl ask, "Do you mind if I sit here?"_**

_**"Sure," Harry said turning to look at the newcomer. He was surprised to see that she was extremely pale almost as if she had rarely if ever been in the sun and was only made more obvious by her long jet black hair. But the strangest thing about her, were her eyes. They looked like molten silver.**_

"You're right I rarely ever got out in the sun," Electra said chuckling. "And plus even if I were to be in the sun all the time I'd still be just as pale."

"So just like how Will has a permanent suntan," Leo said grinning but then frowned slightly. "But how come for as long as I've known you your eyes have been grey?"

Piper smirked at Electra who was purposefully avoiding looking at the daughter of Aphrodite and was saying, "My eyes darken as I get angry or upset."

"What about the shattered glass look you had this summer and is just now going away?" Harry asked curious.

"What shattered glass look?" Cassie asked staring at her daughter wanting an explanation. Sirius and Severus were looking at Electra for a reason as to why she didn't look that good at the end of the summer.

Electra flinched slightly and said quietly, "It'll be explained later." Cassie narrowed her eyes but seeing the look in Electra's eyes decided to let the subject rest… for now.

Percy chuckled before saying teasingly, "Scared of your mom when she's angry?"

Electra stuck her tongue at Percy. "Like you're not scared of your mom when she's angry."

Percy shrugged. "Fair point. And how many times has she told you to call her Aunt Sally?"

Electra chuckled, "A fair few times."

"Why would she do that?" Ginny asked.

"We're cousins," Percy and Electra said in unison.

"Nico, Hazel, Thalia, and Jason are also my cousins," Percy said.

Draco looked confused not remembering any Jacksons on his family tree.

"Percy's my cousin on my father's side," Electra said to clear up not only Draco's but some of the other's confusion as well. Draco scoffed lightly figuring it must be a filthy muggle family. Electra smirked slightly knowing what he was thinking and knowing that her father could beat the ferret's with probably only one finger or look.

_**"I'm Harry Potter, what's your name?" Harry asked as the girl sat down in the seat next to him.**_

**_"Electra Black," she replied. They lapsed into silence and Harry looked back at the red-haired twin's family down on the platform when their mother had just taken out her handkerchief_. **

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

**"Mom— geroff" He wriggled free. **

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

**"Shut up," said Ron. **

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

**"He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter P on it. **

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

**"Or twice —" **

**"A minute —" **

**"All summer —" **

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

"How come we never thought of that?" George wondered.

"Percy the Prat fits better now though," Fred said as they glared at their estranged brother.

**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

**"Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —" **

McGonagall sighed, "You never give pranksters ideas Molly."

The demigods/satyr who had been at camp when Percy and Clarisse had their showdown in the bathroom were laughing at the memory of the incident.

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mum." _Harry heard Electra snicker at that._**

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron." **

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

**"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. **

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

**"Who?" **

**"Harry Potter!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

**"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, eh please…" **

**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

**"Poor dear — no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

**"All right, keep your hair on." **

** A whistle sounded. **

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat." **

"I never got that," Ginny said looking at her brothers.

"We felt that someone else needed it more," they replied in unison.

**"George!" **

**"Only joking, Mum." **

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. **

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. **

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

**"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

**"Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

**"Right," mumbled Ron. **

**"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then." **

**"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. **

**Harry nodded. **

**"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

**"So that's where You-Know-Who —?" **

**"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

**"Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

**"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. **

**"Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." **

"He's a squib and he's extremely jealous of all the rest of us because we have magic," Bill said.

**"So you must know loads of magic already." **

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

"Not at all," Draco scoffed.

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

**"Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

**"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. **

Ron's family looked at the youngest male Weasley strangely wondering just how bad his insecurity was.

**"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. **

"I don't feel like that anymore," Ron said quietly before his family could protest.

"You're your own person Ron," Bill said. "Besides you've done more than any of us have." He smiled at his baby brother who smiled hesitantly back.

**I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." **

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. **

_Typical_, Sirius and Remus thought growling at the mention of the traitor.

**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." **

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. _Harry looked over at Electra wanting to ask what her family was like he noticed that she seemed to be asleep._**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up. **

**"… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

**"What?" said Harry. **

**"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

**"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

** Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, _and Electra, who had woken up at the sound of the cart_, stood up but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry **

"What's a Mars Bar," Remus asked.

"It's a type of chocolate bar," Harry replied.

"It's just like an American Milky Way," Electra said for the non-British's benefit.

**but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts _while Electra bought some Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes._ **

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

**"Hungry, are you?" **

**"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef.." **

"That's mine," Charlie said and Mrs. Weasley looked at them curiously wondering how she could've missed that.

**"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Electra, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). **

**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

**"What?" **

**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." **

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

**"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **

**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS **

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindlewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **

Harry, Ron and Hermione grumbled in irritation about it being on the back of a Frog card the whole time.

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

**"He's gone!" **

**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. **

**"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!" **

_**"Well so are pictures that move," Electra told Ron as she bit off the head of one of her Frogs.**_

"Did you have to make it sound so violent?" Percy asked.

"Oh shut up about frogs Kelp Head," Thalia groaned.

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. **

**Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. **

"Who did you end up getting Electra?" Will asked.

Electra thought for a moment. "Uh Salazar Slytherin, Uric the Oddball, Queen Maeve, Musidora Barkwith, and oh yeah," she chuckled slightly. "Circe." The Greeks stared at her surprised that Circe was on a Wizarding collectable card. Percy shuddered slightly as he remembered being turned into a guinea pig.

**He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. **

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once." **

Leo looked at George strangely, "And how did you know what they tasted like?"

Harry and Ron laughed remembering what happened when Ron had said that. Electra smiled slightly pink.

_**"How does he know what a booger tastes like?" Electra asked looking strangely at Ron.**_

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

**"Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end of a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

**"He'll turn up," said Harry. **

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" **

**He left. **

_**"I doubt he'd be here," Electra said. "Toads hate me and normally stay away from me."**_

**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. **

**"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

"That wand needs replacing," Regulus murmured.

"Mum there's a reason I got a new wand," Charlie said. "My old one was broken."

** "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. **

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and started whacking Harry with a pillow.

"I didn't write this!" Harry replied trying to shield himself.

**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

**"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

**"Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." **

George snickered, "I can't believe you fell for that."

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. **

**"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" **

**She said all this very fast. **

_No kidding, _McGonagall thought. _There were no periods in that whole paragraph._

**Harry looked at Ron _and Electra_, and was relieved to see by their stunned faces that they hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. **

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. **

_**"Electra Black," Electra said.**_

**"Harry Potter," said Harry. **

**"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." **

**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

**"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk _as Electra shot him a look for being rude_.**

**"Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

"Of course I did," George said. "I figured you would've been able to figure it out."

**"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

**"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" **

**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. Electra looked over in interest.**

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. **

"I'm a Curse Breaker," Bill clarified.

**"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault." **

**Harry stared. **

**"Really? What happened to them?" **

**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." **

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying. **

**"What's your guy's Quidditch teams?" Ron asked. **

**"Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed. **

_**"Neither do I," Electra said.**_

James and Sirius looked at the two of them in shock. "I have one now," Harry said. "Puddlemere United."

The twins cheered, "Oliver's team!"

Electra shrugged, "I still don't have one. I haven't really gotten into the whole Quidditch thing. I like to keep my feet firmly on the ground." Charlie and James stared at her dumbfounded. Sirius wasn't that surprised since he remembered how much Hades and Zeus disliked each other and figured it probably wasn't a good idea for a child of Hades to go into Zeus's territory.

**"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game, _Electra had tuned him out with a small shudder as soon as he mentioned the fact that they flew on broomsticks making Harry wonder if she was afraid of heights or something,_**

_Definitely the or something, _Nico thought.

**when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. **

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

Severus looked at Draco. This didn't fit with what he'd been told.

**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

Travis snorted before saying in a British accent, "My name's Bond, James Bond." Those who got the joke laughed.

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

**"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

The Weasley's (minus the prat) and those close to the family glared at the Malfoy heir.

_**He turned to Electra, "Who are you?"**_

_**Electra looked at him coolly but her eyes were steely. "What's it too you since you obliviously don't give a damn about who I am as a person but who my family is."**_

**_Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her and then turned back to Harry._ "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." **

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. **

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. **

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

**Both Harry and Ron stood up _while Electra tensed as if she was expecting an attack._**

_Perceptive little squirt weren't you? _Electra thought surprised that Harry had picked up on that.

**"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair. **

**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

**"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

**"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward _and Electra stood up_, but before they'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle — Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. **

"Only useful thing he ever did," Ron grumbled as Snape glared at his student as what he had been told didn't match up with this version of events.

**Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

**"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep." **

**And so he had. **

**"You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" _Electra glared at him slightly for being rude again._**

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" **

**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

**"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" **

"Ron you do realize that Electra is also a girl?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow. Ron went pink.

"By the way Hermione you do know that most people on that train were technically children," Remus asked the brunette who blushed.

"I was a bit high-strung at first," Hermione admitted.

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**_Harry and Ron stepped outside while Electra changed and then they switched places._ **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

**"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

**"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

Everyone who had seen it remembered their first times seeing the castle and Annabeth grinned imagining what the architecture looked like.

**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. **

**"_Boats?" Electra squeaked looking paler than normal._**

_**"You alright?" Harry asked as he and Ron pulled Electra into a boat and Hermione followed them.**_

_**"I hate boats," Electra said.**_

** "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. _Everyone was silent except Electra who had been muttering constantly ever since they set off and gripping the side so hard her knuckles turned white, staring up at the great castle overhead_. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

"I wonder what would happen if you didn't duck," Conner wondered.

Remus glared at glared at James and Sirius who were chuckling. "You fall in. Just like these two learned the hard way when they didn't duck. And then they dragged me in with them."

James grinned, "But that is how we became friends."

"Besides the giant squid was nice enough to put us all back in the boat?" Sirius finished. Percy had perked up at the mention of giant squids.

**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"That's the end who's next?" McGonagall asked closing the book.

Lily held up her hand. "I will I want to read about my son's Sorting." McGonagall floated the book over to her.


	9. The Sorting Hat

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything that J.K. Rowling or Rick Riordan created. The only things I own are my OC's and my plot.**

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**KK (Guest): Thanks so much for your suggestion. I've gone back and updated the last chapter and edited it so my additions were italicized as well.**

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**Oh my gosh! I just finished House of Hades yesterday, which is why this is late because I didn't want to put it down, and... and... I'm kinda speechless right now except for one thing... RICK HOW DARE YOU MAKE US WAIT A WHOLE YEAR FOR THE FINAL BOOK! HOW DARE YOU?! I don't wanna wait... I wanna know what happens. Anyway this story might not end up being as close to canon for Percy Jackson books and after events as I hoped but oh well.**

**Bold Italic text (****_text_****) my own additions.**

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Lily opened the book and started reading a small sad smile on her face.

**CHAPTER SEVEN **

**The Sorting Hat **

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. **

"But it's so much fun," James said smiling and McGonagall had to refrain from rolling her eyes at her former student.

**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. **

**"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

James, Sirius and Remus chuckled. "Yeah you never change your speech. That was the same one you gave us," Sirius said.

**"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. **

"That won't work," Lily chuckled and James shuddered.

"You wouldn't believe what she's tried to flatten my hair," James muttered.

**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

**"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron. **

**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." **

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too, _though Electra's expression was hard to read so he wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling_. **

Electra shrugged slightly. "I was nervous since I didn't know what to expect."

"It's tradition not to tell family members about how the Sorting is done," Mr. Weasley said smiling.

**No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. **

"That's awesome!" Travis, Leo, Conner, Fred and George said grinning manically. Travis and Conner automatically started talking about ways they could possibly turn someone's hair blue.

"Hey Pipes could you do that?" Leo asked smiling. Piper looked at Leo, thought for a moment and then smirked when Leo's hair went bright blue. Everyone except Percy W, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Severus, and Draco started laughing, even Chiron chuckled. Leo looked at them confused until Fred gestured to his hair and then Leo yelped when he saw that his hair was now blue. "My hair! Piper I just wondered if you could change people's hair colour not to actually change my hair blue."

"Well I didn't know that," Piper said grinning.

"How did you do that?" Percy W. asked suspiciously.

"You'll find out," Piper said knowing that now wasn't the time to explain about being a demigod.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom. **

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

**"What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him _though he could've sworn he heard a sigh from Electra and when he looked at her she looked completely bored as if she saw ghosts every day and was used to it_. **

Electra huffed, "You were an observant little squirt weren't you?"

"Oi you were small too," Harry replied indignantly.

"She still kinda is," Nico said earning himself a pillow to the face courtesy of Electra.

"I'm 5'4" thank you very much," Electra grumbled slightly. "Just because I was short when I was eleven." _Pesky siblings._

**About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. **

**Nobody answered. **

**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

**"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him _and Electra behind him_, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. **

"That sounds nice," Will said.

**At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." **

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. **

"That's amazing," Annabeth said her eyes shining.

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

Lily snickered slightly at that.

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing — noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"Wait the hat sings?" Leo asked fiddling with some bits and pieces from his tool belt.

"Yeah it does," George said.

"Cool," Leo said. "I wonder what Buford would think of him."

"Buford?" Fred asked.

"My walking table," Leo said pulling a rubber band out of his tool belt. Many of the wizards were confused at that but Lily decided to just keep reading figuring that some things would be revealed eventually.

**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, **

**But don't judge on  
what you see, **

**I'll eat myself if you can find **

**A smarter hat than me. **

**You can keep your bowlers black, **

**Your top hats sleek and tall, **

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **

**And I can cap them all. **

**There's nothing hidden in your head **

** The Sorting Hat can't see, **

**So try me on and I will tell you **

**Where you ought to be. **

**You might belong in Gryffindor, **

**Where dwell the brave at heart, **

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **

**Set Gryffindors apart; **

**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **

**Where they are just and loyal, **

**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **

**And unafraid of toil; **

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **

**If you've a ready mind, **

**Where those of wit and learning, **

**Will always find their kind; **

**Or perhaps in Slytherin **

**You'll make your real friends, **

**Those cunning folk use any means **

**To achieve their ends. **

**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **

**And don't get in a flap! **

**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

**"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

**_"And you believed him?" Harry heard Electra say. "They won't expect first years to fight a troll." Harry could've sworn he heard disappointment in her tone._**

"Seriously Electra?" Will asked. "You wanted to fight a troll?" Electra shrugged sheepishly.

"I don't want to hear about you wanting to fight trolls or monster," Cassie groaned. "Though I doubt I'll have much choice."

_Well she got her wish, _Hermione and Harry both thought.

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him. **

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. **

**"Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause — **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

**_"Black, Electra!"_**

**_Electra walked forward and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on her head and after a couple minutes during which Electra ended up crossing her arms the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Electra got up and walked over to sit at the table on the far left that had exploded with cheers._**

"What irritated you?" Nico asked recognizing the signs.

"Blasted hat was starting to judge me on my family and not me," Electra grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"First he started going on about my father who you know is different and then he brought up my mom's family most of whom I can't stand except for the about six that I can think of off the top of my head who are actually decent." Electra explained. "The hat was about to put me in Slytherin but I snapped at it to judge me for me and not based on who my family is. The hat then changed its mind and put me in Gryffindor."

"You were almost a Slytherin?" Ron asked surprised.

"Problem?" Electra asked.

"No I can see how you were though," Ron said. "The number of times you've snuck up on us out of nowhere without us noticing." Harry relaxed slightly seeing that no one was freaking out about Electra nearly being a snake they probably wouldn't care if he nearly was either.

"I know what you mean," Jason said. "I've lost track of the number of times I've wanted to put bells on both her and Nico just to have some warning when they come out of the shadows from behind." The two said children of Hades looked irritated.

**"Bones, Susan!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

**"Boot, Terry!" **

**"RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, and "Brown, Lavender" joined Gryffindor. **

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. **

Lily and James both growled at that.

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" **

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor. **

** "Granger, Hermione!" **

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. **

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned. **

Hermione smacked Ron on the back of the head in irritation.

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train? **

"That's never happened Mr. Potter and never will," McGonagall assured the boy.

** When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" **

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"… , "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last — **

**"Potter, Harry!" **

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

**"Potter, did she say?" **

**"The Harry Potter?" **

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

**"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?" **

"You could've been in any house?" Bill asked curiously. Harry nodded.

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. **

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!" **

"You were almost a Slytherin too?" Sirius asked but Harry couldn't detect any sense of hurt or distrust in his godfather's voice.

"I can see that," Hermione said. "You can be extremely determined and resourceful when you put your mind to it and same with cunning."

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier _ and next to Electra_. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. **

"That's what it feels like?" Electra muttered curious as due to her being a daughter of Hades ghosts were 'solid' to her.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

**Harry _and Electra _clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the _other_ chair next to _Harry_. **

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

"Er…" was the general reaction from the demigods who didn't know what Dumbledore was like.

**"Thank you!" **

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. **

**"Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" **

"Revised that opinion lately haven't you," Ginny said to her brother glaring.

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious. **

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

**"Can't you —?" **

**"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

Nico thought for a moment, "That name sounds familiar…." He snapped his fingers. "Right Sir Nicholas, died Halloween 1492 after being hit in the neck forty-five times with a blunt axe, and became a ghost because he was afraid of death…" Nico trailed off into irritated mumblings.

"How did you know that?" Remus asked as all the wizards were shocked that a stranger knew so much about one of Hogwarts's ghosts.

Nico smiled slightly. "Trade secret."

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" **

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

"It is," James said having known that Nico was a child of Hades so he wasn't as shocked about the way Nico talked about Nick.

**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

"Don't ask," Sirius said.

Remus rolled his eyes, "I did warn you but you and James just had to ignore me."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"The Bloody Baron chased down the halls swinging his sword at us," James replied reminiscing.

"So no one knows why he's covered in blood?" Ginny said.

Electra chuckled slightly and Leo looked at her, "Well of course you know don't you." Electra smiled in agreement much to the shock of those who didn't know that she was a demigod.

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families. **

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." **

**The others laughed. **

_That's not funny, _Severus thought remembering his childhood though it didn't help that it was his stepfather as well.

**_"My mum's whole family had magic," Electra said. "But my dad isn't a wizard though. He knew what my mum was the whole time he knew her though."_**

**_"So you're a half-blood too then?" Seamus asked and Electra smiled nodding._**

_Interesting, _Sirius thought. _Not a lie but not the whole truth either. _

**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "I will be talking with Augustus about this later. You don't try to force magic out of someone."

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. **

Electra snickered and Severus looked at her irritated.

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

**"What is it?" asked Percy. **

**"N-nothing." **

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." **

_Well duh he is a child of Hades, _Nico and Electra thought.

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again. **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

**"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. **

Lily chuckled, "That used to be you three."

James, Sirius and Remus laughed. "Yeah those were good times," James said.

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

"That's new," Arthur said wondering if that had anything to do with the mentions his sons had made about Ron and a giant chess set.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

**"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy. **

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

**"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **

**Teach us something please, **

**Whether we be old and bald **

**Or young with scabby knees, **

**Our heads could do with filling **

**With some interesting stuff, **

**For now they're bare and full of air, **

**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **

**So teach us things worth knowing, **

**Bring back what we've forgot, **

**Just do your best, we'll do the rest, **

**And learn until our brains all rot." **

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. **

"Brilliant," James and Sirius said high fiving the twins.

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. **

"And that's why everyone gets lost for the first couple weeks." Tonks said.

**They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" **

Remus shook his head. "Too soon. You never pull the Bloody Baron card that early or else he won't respect you." Percy went slightly pink.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. **

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." **

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. **

**"Password?" she said. **

**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. **

"That sounds nice," Rachel said.

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

**"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing**

**Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**

"That's a weird dream," Neville said.

"I guess we aren't the only ones who get strange dreams," Percy said.

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all. **

"So who's going to read next?" Lily asked.

"I will," Hazel said. She received the book but before she could open it Percy looked at Electra.

"So Electra if we went to Hogwarts what houses would we be in?" Percy asked grinning.

Electra sighed and looked at them and then at the ceiling. "Fine let's see… Percy you'd probably be in either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, Annabeth would be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, Nico would be a Slytherin or possibly a Gryffindor, Grover would be a Hufflepuff, Rachel a Ravenclaw, Piper a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff, Jason would be in Gryffindor or Slytherin same with Thalia, Leo could be in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, Frank a Hufflepuff, Hazel would be a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff, Will a Ravenclaw, Travis and Conner would probably be either Slytherin or Gryffindor."

"Interesting and what were the different houses traits?" Chiron said.

"Gryffindor's traits are bravery, nerve, chivalry, courage, and daring. Slytherin's are traditionalism, resourcefulness, cunning, ambition, leadership qualities, self-preservation, determination, cleverness, fraternity and power. Hufflepuff's are dedication, hard work, fair play, patience, kindness, tolerance, and unafraid of toil. Ravenclaw's are intelligence, wit, wisdom, creativity, originality, and individuality." Electra replied and Chiron nodded seeing why she said his students would fit in certain houses and he agreed.


	10. The Potions Master

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything JK and Rick created.**

**Bold italic text (****_text) _****is my own changes to the original text.**

* * *

Hazel opened the book and started to read.

**CHAPTER EIGHT ****The Potions Master **

**"There, look." **

**"Where?" **

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

**"Wearing the glasses?" **

**"Did you see his face?" **

**"Did you see his scar?" **

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. **

"That sounds like it would be so annoying," Percy said.

"It was," Harry said.

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. **

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. **

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" **

James and Sirius snickered. Lily sighed, "You two taught him that didn't you?" James laughed and Lily smacked him on the back of the head. "Do you have any idea how annoying it is when he does that?"

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry_, Electra,_ and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. **

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. **

"I did that," Regulus and Bill both said.

"Nice," Fred and George said while Sirius still was having issues coming to terms with his brother being there and acting differently than he remembered.

"That cat deserved it," Electra said. "She's a menace."

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. **

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. **

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. **

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. **

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." **

"And yet you always let us back," Sirius said gesturing to himself and his best friend.

"You two were some of my top students even though you messed around," McGonagall replied.

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. **

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. **

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start. **

**Friday was an important day for Harry_, Electra_ and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. **

**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge. **

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true." **

"It's true," everyone who'd had Snape as a teacher said and McGonagall narrowed her eyes at her colleague.

**"Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before. **

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. **

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a **

**bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **

**Dear Harry, **

**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? **

** I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. **

**Hagrid **

"That's nice of Hagrid," Lily said smiling.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again. **

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far. **

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he hated him. **

James narrowed his eyes at Snape.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. **

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. **

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity." **

"Who was the old one?" Travis asked.

Percy and Grover were laughing. "What's so funny?" Conner asked.

"Mr. D. said almost the same thing to Percy," Grover said causing the rest of the younger demigods to laugh as well remembering what Mr. D was like.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. **

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." **

"That was a good speech until you called them dunderheads Severus," Regulus sighed.

"You don't call your students dunderheads," McGonagall sighed resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. **

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

"That's a sixth year question," Lily snapped. "They won't know that."

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron _and Electra_, who looked as stumped as he was, _Electra was also looking slightly irritated as well as confused_; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. **

**"I don't know, sir," said Harry. **

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer. **

**"Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

**He ignored Hermione's hand. **

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" **

"Well at least that's first year but you can't expect them to know that on the first day," Lily grumbled angry at her old friend.

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. **

"Like you even knew," Charlie said to Malfoy.

**"I don't know, sir." **

**"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi? **

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

As he was ignoring the looks everyone else was giving him.

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. **

**"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" **

**A few people laughed _and Electra snickered slightly_; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. **

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

"Because you didn't tell them too," Nico said cheekily.

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." **

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. **

**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" **

"Severus," McGonagall snapped completely irritated with her fellow professor and former student.

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. **

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. **

**"You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." **

James stood up and turned to Severus. "I can't believe that you would take out your old grudge against me on my son who never did anything to you and you've barely met."

Electra's eye twitched in irritation and she threw a pillow hitting Severus in the face before muttering in Greek, "_That's your issue?_"

"He has issues with grudges," Nico said quietly grinning at his brother when he turned his gaze on him.

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. **

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." **

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week —why did Snape hate him so much? **

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can _Electra and _I come and meet Hagrid with you?" **

** At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. **

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang —back." **

"Fang's a big softie," Charlie said. "It's the normal or innocent names you need to watch out for."

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. **

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." **

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. **

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. **

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at _Electra_ and started licking _her cheeks_. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. **

**"This is Ron _and Electra_," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. **

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." _He looked over at Electra who was scratching behind Fang's ears and greeted her with a strange look in his eyes._ **

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, **

Everyone that had experienced Hagrid's cooking shuddered slightly.

**but Harry_, Electra_ and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. **

**Harry, _Electra_ and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git." **

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it." **

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. **

"That's true," Bill said.

**"But he seemed to really hate me." **

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

"That's because he does know our history," Sirius said.

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." **

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet: **

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **

"Whoa Gringotts was broken into," Cassie said shocked.

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **

**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!" **

"Nope after," Harry muttered.

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? **

"Yep," Harry said.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry? **

"Yes, Hogwarts and yes," Harry said.


	11. The Midnight Duel

**I don't own anything recognizable. Period Exclaimation mark.**

**So sorry about the wait. College has been killer. I had a CA Gov test on Friday, another test today, and a math test on both Thrusday and Friday this week. GAH! Oh well hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Bold italic text (****_text_****) = my changes.**

* * *

"I'll read next I guess," Bill said

**CHAPTER NINE The Midnight Duel **

The mothers all groaned at the thought of their sons/daughter dueling.

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. **

**"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." **

"You won't," James said confidently.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else. **

**"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." **

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"Do you even know what a helicopter is?" Tonks asked.

Malfoy got a pink tinge in his cheeks.

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. **

"What?" Charlie asked looking at his youngest brother in shock. Ron rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Molly was about to say something but Bill continued reading.

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move. **

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground. **

**_While _****Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was ****_as _****this was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book— not that she hadn't tried – ****_neither of them were even close to how nervous Electra was. She seemed just as terrified at the thought of getting up in the air as she was when they were crossing the lake before the Sorting. _**

**At breakfast on Thursday Hermione bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else ****_and especially Electra who was muttering nonstop in some strange language that he'd never heard before, _**** was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. **

"Scared Black?" Malfoy sneered.

"I enjoy living," Electra said, "which is why I avoid flying."

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table. **

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. **

**"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…" **

"But it doesn't tell you what you've forgotten so it's pretty pointless," Lily sighed. "I remember Alice got one in her first year as well. She grew out of her forgetfulness so you will to Neville." She smiled at Neville.

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. **

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash. **

**"What's going on?" **

**"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." **

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. **

**"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. **

"Sure you were," Regulus muttered irritated at the fact that people like his cousin were those that give Slytherins a bad name.

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, ****_Electra_**** and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. **

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left. **

"We need new brooms," McGonagall said.

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. **

**"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." **

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. **

**"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'" **

**"UP" everyone shouted. **

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville ****_and Electra_****'s hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground ****_and Electra's voice trailed off at the end as though she didn't want to even try_****. **

_No duh she wouldn't want to get blasted out of the air by our dear uncle, _Percy and Nico were thinking.

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years. **

**"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —" **

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips. **

**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and — **

**WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay face down on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. **

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

**"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get." **

**She turned to the rest of the class. **

**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." **

Chiron shook his head slightly knowing from experience that leaving a bunch of eleven year olds alone would almost guarantee something happening.

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. **

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. **

**"Did you see his face, the great lump?" **

**The other Slytherins joined in. **

**"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil. **

**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati." **

**"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." **

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up. **

**"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. **

**Malfoy smiled nastily. **

**"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?" **

**"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!" **

**Harry grabbed his broom. **

**"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble." **

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was wonderful. **

"YES!" James cheered. "You're a natural." He grinned broadly.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron. **

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned. **

**"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" **

**"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried. **

"I didn't know he could fly," Malfoy grumbled annoyed.

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping. **

**"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called. **

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. **

**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. **

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist. **

**"HARRY POTTER!" **

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling. **

"Aw Minnie don't ruin it," James whined.

"Don't call me that Mr. Potter."

**"Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —" **

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how dare you — might have broken your neck —" **

**"It wasn't his fault, Professor —" **

**"Be quiet, Miss Patil —" **

**"But Malfoy —" **

**"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." **

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it. **

"No you'd just lose some points and/or get a detention," Lily said.

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep? **

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag. **

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. **

**"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" **

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? **

"Never," McGonagall said shocked. "What would make you think such a thing?"

"Hogwarts seemed to be stuck in the middle ages," Harry explained.

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. **

**"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. **

**"In here." **

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. **

**"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys. **

**"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker." **

James stared at McGonagall in shock a broad grin spreading across his face. "That's awesome!" He was about to jump up and hug McGonagall but Lily held onto to his arm and threatened to silence him and stick him to the chair if he went overboard.

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. **

**"Are you serious, Professor?" **

**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?" **

"No you had a toy broom as a baby and you loved it," James said still smiling hugely.

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. **

**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." **

Charlie was about to protest but then thought about it and realized that it was true that he couldn't have done it on his first time flying and on a school broom too.

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. **

**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly. **

**"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained. **

**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. **

**"Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." **

**"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…" **

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry. **

**"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." **

**Then she suddenly smiled. **

**"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." **

"Absolutely," James said hugging Harry now that Lily had let go of his arm.

** "You're joking." **

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron ****_and Electra_**** what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it. **

**"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never — you must be the youngest house player in about —" **

**"— a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me." **

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry. **

**"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret." **

**_"Nice job Harry," Electra said smiling at him._**

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over. **

**"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters." **

Fred and George grinned.

**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us." **

Charlie looked at his brothers strangely. "You do realize that that was the first year that I wasn't there?"

**"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." **

**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you." **

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. **

**"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" **

**"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. **

**"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?" **

**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?" **

"You don't accept duels for other people," Arthur groaned. "You shouldn't even be trying to set up a duel in the first place."

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. **

**"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." **

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

**"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?" **

**"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway." **

**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" **

**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested. **

"He said no contact," Will reminded Ron.

**_"You do realize he said no contact right?" Electra said raising an eyebrow._**

**"Excuse me." **

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. **

**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. **

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. **

**"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —" **

**"Bet you could," Ron muttered ****_and Electra sighed in exasperation_****. **

"I was really getting fed up with how rude you were being," Electra sighed.

**"— and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you." **

**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry. **

**"Good-bye," said Ron. **

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them." There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it. **

Lily shook her head slightly at how similar that was to James.

**"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go." **

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." **

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown. **

**"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!" **

**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." **

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering. **

**"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. **

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily ****_even though Electra had shown up and was trying to get Hermione to stop_****. ****_They_**** followed Ron through the portrait hole, ****_with Hermione _****hissing at them like an angry goose. **

**"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells." **

**"Go away." **

**"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —" **

"They wouldn't get expelled for being out of bed after curfew," McGonagall said.

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. **

**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly. **

**_"Keep your voice down?" Electra suggested in a low sarcastic voice._**

**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." **

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione ****_and Electra _****caught up with them. **

**"I'm coming with you," she said. **

**"You are not." **

**_"Well I'm going and you can't stop me," Electra said calmly her hands in the pockets of her pitch black bathrobe. If her skin wasn't so pale she'd completely bland into the shadows in the hallway though Harry thought that might be slightly preferable to her ghostlike appearance that she currently had._**

"And there's a taste of how stubborn she can be," Nico said chuckling. He paused for a minute. "Do we really look like ghosts sometimes?" Everyone who knew either one of them nodded.

"Wait we?" Ginny wondered.

"Nico's my brother," Electra said. "Technically he's my half-brother but that's just a small detail." She snickered. "Be grateful that I didn't put on the hood that my bathrobe had."

Travis and Conner shuddered, "You look creepy when you do that."

**"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all ****_four_**** of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up." **

**"You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly. **

**"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." **

**It was a sort of snuffling. **

**"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark. **

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. **

**"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." **

**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." **

**"How's your arm?" said Harry. **

**"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute." **

"then where were you?" Hazel wondered.

"Greenhouses," Neville replied. "They help calm me down and I was helping Professor Sprout with some of the plants."

**"Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —" **

**"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." **

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at ****_Electra,_**** Hermione and Neville. **

**"If ****_any_**** of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." **

**_Electra just looked at Ron coolly just brushing of his glare as if it was nothing, while _****Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward. **

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. **

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. **

"Good idea," Regulus and Remus said.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Tonks yelled making everyone jump.

**The minutes crept by. **

**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. **

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy. **

**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." **

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other ****_four_**** to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. **

**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding." **

**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. **

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. **

**"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the ****_five_**** of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead ****_and Electra right on his heels_****, **

"Those two are ridiculously fast," Ron grumbled.

"Practice," Harry and Electra said.

**without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room. **

**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering. **

**"I —told — you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you." **

**_"Not the right time," Electra said barely even out of breath._**

**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible." **

**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." **

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that. **

Hermione huffed.

**"Let's go." **

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. **

**It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight. **

**"Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out." **

**Peeves cackled. **

**"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." **

**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." **

**"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." **

**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake. **

"No kidding," Sirius said remembering when the rat had done that.

**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" **

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked. **

**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" **

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. **

**"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, **

**"Alohomora!" **

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening. **

**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." **

**"Say 'please.'" **

**"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" **

**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. **

"Yes he won't tell," Fred, George, Sirius and James cheered.

**"All right —please." **

**"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. **

**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?" **

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. **

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. **

Bill stared at the page in horror. "What was that doing in a school? And locked off by door that could be opened with Alohomora?"

"It wasn't like that to begin with," Severus said narrowing his eyes at Dumbledore.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. **

"A Cerberus?" Percy, Chiron, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Hazel, James, Lily and Cassie asked, Lily and Cassie slightly panicky.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant. **

Electra looked confused. "What did you think they meant?"

"That we were going to be eaten," Harry said wondering why she was confused.

"Oh no he wanted to play," Electra said. "He was bored."

"What!" Ron shrieked. "How do you know that?"

"My dad has a Cerberus." Electra said shocking those who didn't know about her father.

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. **

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. **

"wow long way," Conner said.

**"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. **

**"Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. **

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again. **

**"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." **

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" **

**"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads." **

**"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." **

"Why were you looking there?" Percy asked.

"The heads scared me and I didn't want to look at them," Hermione explained slightly pink. Percy nodded in understanding.

**She stood up, glaring at them, ****_as Electra was heading back up to bed_****. **

**"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." **

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open. **

**"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you." **

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts. **

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was. **


	12. Halloween

I don't own anything recognizable.

**Wow two updates in one day. It makes up for the fact I missed last week. Hope you enjoy and thanks to WriterDreamerArtist for being the 100th favorite. I was going to do the 100th reviewer but I only just got the idea and didn't want to count them out so I'll do the 150th instead.**

**bold italic (****_text_****) = my changes**

* * *

"I'll read next," Jason said taking the book.

**CHAPTER TEN Halloween **

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry, Ron ****_and Electra _****thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry filled Ron ****_and Electra_**** in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

**"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. **

**"Or both," said Harry. **

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. **

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. **

"They have sense," Lily said. "You other three do not." Electra, Ron and Harry chuckled.

**All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. **

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later. **

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. **

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: **

**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. **

**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. **

**Professor McGonagall **

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. **

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one." **

**_Electra stayed_****_in the great hall as she wasn't interested in seeing what the broomstick looked like, while Harry and Ron left the hall quickly_****, **

"WHAT!" Charlie and James sputtered shocked.

"I'm not that big of a fan of Quidditch," Electra said. "I'll watch it but I don't go all goo-goo eyed over a broom."

**wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it. **

**"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." **

**Ron couldn't resist it. **

**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." **

**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." **

The Weasley boys all glared at Malfoy though Percy W. was torn between sticking up for his family or ignoring them still.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. **

**"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. **

**"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. **

**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" **

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. **

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. **

**"Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…" **

"That's true," Hermione said smiling.

**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" Came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand. **

**"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. **

**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good." **

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. **

"How did you guys become friends?" Thalia asked. "I can tell you guys are close now."

"End of this chapter," Harry explained.

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. **

**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread. **

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. **

James started to drool slightly. "Eh I've seen better," Sirius said making his best friend stare at him in shock. Jason started reading again when Lily motioned him to continue before James went crazier.

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high. **

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. **

**"Hey, Potter, come down!" **

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. **

**"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." **

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. **

**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." **

**"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. **

**"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" **

**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?" **

**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. **

Will stared at the book in shock unable to believe that someone didn't know about basketball.

**"Never mind," said Harry quickly. **

**"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring." **

**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. **

**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." **

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. **

**"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." **

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box. **

**"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers. **

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground. **

**"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?" **

**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off. **

**"Very good," said Wood. **

**"Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand. **

"Not at Hogwarts," Sirius said.

**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —" **

**"— unless they crack my head open." **

**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves." **

Fred and George smiled proudly. "Nice I was a Beater myself in school," Sirius said.

"And you always hit the Bludgers at me during the times we played against each other," Regulus grumbled. Sirius shrugged.

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings. **

**"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. **

**"Well, that's it any questions?" **

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do alright, it was doing it that was going to be the problem. **

"No it won't Harry," James said.

**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." **

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch. **

**Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on. **

**"That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons." **

"I enjoy Quidditch but I prefer working with dragons," Charlie said smiling.

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. **

Lily and James sighed. His school wasn't supposed to be the place he felt most at home.

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics. **

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye ****_who ended up partnered with Electra_****). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to ****_any_**** of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived. **

**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." **

"That's a lie," Sirius said. "Tried it no buffalo."

"You would try it," Cassie said shaking her head at her brother's antics.

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat. **

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck. **

**"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill. **

**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." **

**"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled. **

"Bad move," Percy said. "Never challenge a brainiac to do something school related."

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" **

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads. **

**"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" **

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. **

**"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly." **

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears. **

**"I think she heard you." **

**"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends." **

"RON!" almost all the females in the room yelled with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny calling him by his full name. McGonagall narrowed her eyes at Ron while Hermione smacked Ron with a pillow his words still stinging after all these years and Electra and Ron's brothers and father glared at him.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron said shrinking back into the seat.

**_Electra smacked him on the back of the head. "You daft idiot. She's trying to make friends and you aren't helping. Do you know how hard it is to make friends?" With that last note she turned away from them and headed after Hermione._**

"Wait how did you know what she was going through?" Harry wondered.

"Because I didn't have any friends before Hogwarts," Electra said before mumbling in Greek. "_Living friends anyway._" Everyone that knew her stared at her in shock some of them understanding why more than others.

**Hermione ****_and Electra_**** didn't turn up for the next class and ****_weren't_**** seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone ****_despite Electra standing outside trying to get Hermione to talk to her_****. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione ****_and Electra _****out of their minds. **

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. **

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." **

"WHAT?!" the parents shouted. "Why didn't we hear about this?"

"I don't think the troll's going to stay in the dungeons," Nico said.

"What makes you say that?" Rachel asked.

"Because Electra's there and she's a magnet for monsters," Nico said. "Same with several of us."

"Unfortunately," Cassie grumbled. "But she would be."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"You'll find out," Electra said slightly nervous about how they'd react to her being a daughter of Hades. True her friends from Camp Half Blood hadn't freaked when they found out she was a witch but that was completely different.

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. **

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. **

**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" **

**Percy was in his element. **

**"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" **

**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. **

**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke." **

"Peeves wouldn't do that," Fred said.

"He knows he'd get thrown out if he did," George added.

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm. **

**"I've just thought — Hermione, ****_Electra_****." **

**"What about ****_them_****?" **

**"****_They_****_don't_**** know about the troll." **

**Ron bit his lip. **

**"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us." **

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them. **

**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin. **

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. **

**"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?" **

"Good question," Sirius said looking at Severus suspiciously.

**"Search me." **

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. **

**"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand. **

**"Can you smell something?" **

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. **

**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. **

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long. **

"Must your descriptions be so accurate?" Piper asked looking faintly sick.

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room. **

**"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in." **

Hermione and Electra narrowed their eyes at Harry realizing it was his idea.

**"Good idea," said Ron nervously. **

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it. **

**"Yes!" **

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up. **

**"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron. **

**"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped. **

**"Hermione! ****_Electra!_****" they said together. **

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? **

"Fighting the troll not saving you two," Harry clarified as Cassie groaned at the fact her daughter would be fighting a troll. Lily and Molly were both pale and James and Arthur were both nervous.

**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside. **

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint, ****_while Electra was pulling on her hand trying to get her to move_****. The troll was advancing on ****_them_****, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. **

**"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall. **

**The troll stopped a few feet from ****_the two girls_****. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went. **

**"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it. **

**"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, ****_helping Electra to try_**** to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. **

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape. **

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: **

"Like James then?" Lily said faintly.

**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils. **

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club. **

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; ****_Electra looked like she was about to charge the troll and _****Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!" **

"Why don't you do a spell you know can perform next time?" Draco sneered.

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble. **

Draco shut his mouth a pink tinge to his cheeks while Ron smirked at the young Slytherin.

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. **

**It was Hermione who spoke first. **

**"Is it — dead?" **

**"I don't think so," said Harry.**

**"I think it's just been knocked out." ****_Electra added._**

**_Harry_**** bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue. **

**"Urgh — troll boogers." **

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers. **

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. **

"Wimp," the young demigods chorused.

"Wow we just sounded like Clarisse there for a moment," Percy noticed.

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind. **

**"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" **

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor, ****_but before he did he could have sworn that he'd seen Snape glance at Electra_****. **

_Observant,_ Severus thought.

**He wished Ron would put his wand down. **

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows. **

**"Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me." **

**"Miss Granger!" **

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. **

**"I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them." **

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? **

"If you had told the truth you would have only lost points for Mr. Weasley's abysmal behavior," McGonagall said shocked that Hermione had lied to her.

**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." **

**Harry, ****_Electra_**** and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. **

"It didn't really work," Severus said.

"Well you should've said something," McGonagall replied. Severus stayed silent as he knew that the real reason they had to fight the troll was it had smelled Electra and gone after her but he couldn't have said that without revealing their secret.

**"Well — in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the ****_four_**** of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" **

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets. **

"That's happened," Electra said smiling. "Just not that you knew of." Many of the wizards were shocked at that.

**"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." **

**Hermione left. **

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, ****_Electra_**** and Ron. **

**"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." **

"Looks like you got your wish Electra," Frank said. "You had said you wanted to fight a troll."

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else. **

**"We should have gotten more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled. **

**"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's." **

**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her." **

**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**_"And we wouldn't have even been in that situation if you hadn't upset her," Electra said narrowing her eyes at Ron._**

"Be grateful she didn't outright glare at you," Conner said shuddering.

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. **

**"Pig snout," they said and entered. **

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates. **

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

"Seriously that's how you became friends?" Travis said.


End file.
